Unmei Force: Infection
by Xovercreator
Summary: Three stories, three teams. In a world that has been sent into chaos due to the biological agent known as the C-Virus, the heroes attempt to survive through the living apocalypse before them, and find the truth behind it. With members of the Unmei Force at their assistance, what new developments will occur due to their presence?
1. Leon Chapter 1

Unmei Force Infection

Leon Chapter 1: Seeking Answers

* * *

_Inside Ivy University, U.S.A..._

Inside one of the university rooms, two people pointed their guns, modified pistols, at a zombified man, who was chewing flesh and muscle off the body of his own victim.

That man, was President Adam Benford, who was infected and turned into a zombie, as his eyes were completely milky-white, and his skin was deathly grey and veiny, as there was the blood of his victim spattered all over his face, and over his broken glasses, and all over his tarnished teeth. His coat was oozed in both blood and flesh of his victims, as he immediately turned towards the duo who were aiming at him, as he let out a gurgling groan, as he slowly got up.

"Stay where you are...!" One of the people warned Adam, who was a male with short brown hair that was parted towards his forehead, dressed in a black military vest over a blue suit, black jeans and shoes, as the zombie president shambled towards them with mouth agape.

When Adam didn't stop, the man's expression became more agitated, as he tightened his grip on the pistol. "Mr President!"

Adam continued to waddle along towards them, moving towards the other member of the duo, who was a mature woman, wearing a striped shirt under her black vest, as well as having utility pouches strapped to her belt, and brown jeans and shoes. She looked quite reluctant to point her gun at Adam, as her grip trembled slightly and she looked quite horrified.

"Don't make me do this..." The man spoke once again, as he eased his finger on the trigger, with his partner doing the same.

However, Adam continued to waddle along, as if he couldn't understand their request, before he immediately lunged for the woman when he was close enough, leaning in to bite her.

"ADAM!" The man shouted, before he finally fired, as the shot pierced through Adam's head with a wet and squishy sound, as the president was knocked onto his side, as the pistol shell clattered on the floor, and didn't get back up at all.

Both of them panted, as they were already on their nerves due to what just happened, as they both approached the now-deceased president, as blood pooled from his latest wound, his blood a tainted red from whatever biological agent turned him into living dead.

"It's all my fault..." The woman told her partner with a guilt-filled tone. "I... I did this."

"What are you talking about?" The man asked back, unable to understand what she was talking about.

The woman immediately holstered her pistol into her waist-bound holster, as she wiped some tears from her eyes. "Tall Oaks Cathedral... I'll explain everything there, Agent Kennedy."

"How do you know my name...?" He asked in response, before there was a ringing sound near them, as he moved his hand to his waist for something, only for his partner to pull out a phone, faster than him.

"Yes?" She asked the caller, as Kennedy, or Leon, came over to look at who was the caller.

"Hunnigan...?" He asked the person on the other side, who was a woman with short braided hair and glasses, and a grey buttoned suit.

"Thank god you're both alright." Hunnigan responded back through the phone.

"How do you two know each other?" Leon asked.

"That's Helena Harper." Hunnigan explained, identifying Leon's partner in the room. "She's been with the Secret Service since last year. I can't tell you how good it is to hear you two are alright. Look, I hate to rush the introductions, but I need a report on the situation."

They both looked at the dead corpse of Adam, before back at Hunnigan on the phone. "I... I just shot the president." Leon admitted.

"What are you-" Hunnigan was about to ask completely shocked.

"He had already been infected by the time we found him." Helena quickly explained. "Leon... Leon did what he had to. He saved my life."

Hunnigan was silent, as her head was bowed in shock. "God help us..." She blurted out. "All right. I'll submit the report. You two just focus on getting the hell out of there. The virus has already spread three miles past the campus perimeter and it's not slowing down. You need to hurry."

"Not before we check out Tall Oaks Cathedral." Helena argued back strongly. "Agent Kennedy's got a lead that might tell us who's responsible for this."

"Leon, is that true?" Hunnigan asked Leon, as Helena looked at Leon with a pleading look.

"...Yeah. I think I might have something." Leon responded back, looking back at Helena.

"Roger that. I'll map out the safest access route." Hunnigan answered back, as she worked on her computer. "Keep your radio on."

The phone then switched off, as Helena immediately pocketed it.

"...I got a lead?" Leon asked with a suspicious tone.

"You will, if you come with me." Helena assured Leon.

Leon then walked over to Adam's body, as he crouched down. "Adam... I'm sorry..." He stated with a solemn tone.

He then got back up, before turning to Helena. "So what's so special about this church? You have some sins to confess?"

"It's hard to explain. If I don't tell you at the cathedral... you may not believe me." Helena answered back.

"You're going to tell me everything once we get to the cathedral. Deal?" Leon told Helena sternly, as he brushed past her to open the door out of the room.

"Deal." Helena nodded, as both of them left the room, only to walk into the sight of two guns aimed at them.

"Hands up..." Richard stated, as the gun in his hand was a standard-issue assault rifle, which had a curved ammo magazine and the standard set of attachments, such as the scope, shoulder-stock, fore-grip and customised muzzle, and dressed in black military outfit, as there were shoulder patches of a grey wolf's head biting onto a golden scale on it. "...Who are you two...?"

Leon almost drew his pistol, as did Helena, but immediately decided against it, due to being held at gun-point with a dangerous weapon like the assault rifle. He then glanced on Richard's side, where Reisen, whose hair was dyed raven-black, and dressed in the same uniform as Richard, was keeping aim at the other duo as well, as she had a pistol with extended-mag and a silencer attached on the barrel.

"I should be asking the same question." Leon retorted back coolly. "What is your intention here?"

"Very funny. I asked first." Richard growled back. "I don't find you quite trustworthy when I heard shots coming your direction. I certainly know that you used that pistol on your waist. So we came over and see what the commotion was, before your damn shot would have attracted more zombies into the mess. So I ask you again, who are you? Do you have a hand for what has happened here?"

Helena shook her head. "No, we have no part in all of this." She answered back. "We are actually here to investigate the cause of this incident ourselves. Now tell us, who are you people, and what is your intention here."

Richard lowered the assault rifle, although the serious expression on his face didn't go away. "Our names aren't important." Richard answered back. "We're merely wandering mercenaries. When the world went to shit, we started looking for ways to thin the zombie swarm, both in terms of numbers and threat in any way possible. Recently got a tip-off that this place might have something to help. Turns out that this tip would come true, since you might be the people I'm looking for. You might actually give me the info I need to further our goals in this world."

Leon didn't respond back to that, although he scowled slightly at Richard.

"Now, your turn." Richard told Leon and Helena. "Who are you people?"

"Agent Harper of the Secret Service, and Agent Leon S. Kennedy of the Division of Secret Services." Helena responded back.

"...At least that doesn't make us enemies." Richard sighed, as his hostility towards the duo evaporated, and Reisen lowered her weapon as well. "So I heard that you're heading for some sort of cathedral in this area, right? Allow us to come with you. A group of two like you would be liable to suffer problems. Since we're working together to put an end to this outbreak, I suggest that we collaborate our efforts. I can assure you that I want an end to this living hell as much as you. And if someone's responsible for this... They'll face justice, in court, or at the barrel of a gun."

Leon and Helena were silent, as they spent some time considering Richard's offer, as it sounded quite suspicious in their view, but considering that Richard didn't look like that he wasn't affiliated with any potential threats, due to the markings on the shoulders of both of them being one that they didn't know, although Leon considering having Hunnigan scan the symbol and see what comes up as a result.

"Alright then." Leon nodded. "Do you have anything to protect yourself?"

"We're mercenaries." Richard dryly responded back, as he immediately pulled out a refined Bowie-knife. "We're prepared for most circumstances while we're deployed out for missions. If you need ammo, holler and we'll give you whatever type that your weapons utilise, although we didn't carry much, to avoid encumberment."

"That would be fine." Helena stated. "Come on, let's go."

The four of them immediately continued down the hallway, as they moved across the campus, sweeping and searching every possible corner for any hidden threats, before they came up on a large set of doors, as they stacked up on it.

"You see one of them, aim for the head. It's your best bet." Leon told Helena.

"And if you see any dead bodies, check their heads. If they haven't got their brains blown out enough, then they might bite you when you don't look." Richard advised Helena as well. "Either way, some of these things are more tenacious than they would seem on the outside, so make sure you properly finished them off."

"Got it." Helena answered back, as Leon immediately pushed the door open, as they found themselves on a balcony overseeing a large dining hall, which was prepared for some celebration, with banners and balloon bundles everywhere to be seen, as there was not a single person below them, not even an zombie.

"This was where the reception was gonna be." Leon remarked.

"Funny enough, had shit not went down... The students here would have their damn meals..." Richard said as well.

"You think anyone survived?" Helena asked the others.

"Unlikely. All we found on our way were zombies." Reisen bluntly answered back, as they moved around, with them looking in different directions, guns up.

They soon moved around, as Leon kept his eyes on the scene with a solemn expression. "I can't believe this is happening again. It's just like Raccoon." Leon answered back.

"The Raccoon City Incident... You were one of the survivors." Helena responded back.

"Whoa, back the fuck up. You're a survivor of that hell-hole...!?" Richard exclaimed. "Well... Never thought that I would be finding myself in the company of someone famous like you."

"Yeah... I'll never forget it." Leon answered back, as they continued down another flight of stairs. "We're going to this cathedral of yours, but if you really did have a hand in this... You can kiss your freedom goodbye. Same goes to the both of you mercs."

"Reasonable doubt, Leon." Richard nodded back. "But let's not point fingers until we figure this thing out completely."

When they got down the ground floor, they immediately spotted a humanoid shadow far from them, as Richard and Reisen immediately pointed their weapons at it, causing it to flee towards one of the doors.

"What was that...?" Helena asked.

"Only one way to find out... Let's go!" Leon stated, as the four of them immediately jogged past the tables and chairs, as they followed the shadow into a kitchen, where there was rattling sounds within it, confirming their suspicion that their target ran through the same way they're going. "In the back!"

They soon continued through the kitchen, as they managed to get past several fallen objects in their path, which was knocked down by whoever they were chasing, before they reached a door, where they were certain the person was in.

When they reached the door, Richard immediately forced it open, as Reisen came in, and pointed her gun rapidly in several directions, before she then caught sight of a frightened male staff member, who immediately collapsed on the ground.

"Wait! Don't shoot!" He pleaded, with his hands up, before Leon and Helena came in as well. He then immediately doubled over, as he gagged and coughed violently, causing Leon to move close to him.

"Are you alright?" Leon asked, as he helped lift the staff member to his feet.

"The fog..." The staff member responded back.

"What...?" Helena asked.

"The fog... it came out of nowhere...!" He stated.

"What fog...!?" Richard demanded, as he walked up to the staff member. "Tell me what you know about this-"

Suddenly, there was the sound of distant female screaming, as the staff member reacted immediately, as he immediately ran for the door. "Liz!"

Before he could get far, he was immediately grappled by Richard, with an strong and tight arm around his neck.

"Let me go!" He shouted, before his mouth was covered by Richard's hand.

"Shut up! Do you want to call the zombies in this entire place with you damn voice!?" Richard hissed into the staff member's ear. "I don't know if that was your daughter or someone, but calm the fuck down! You're not doing any favours frantically running around this entire place, when zombies are infesting this place!"

Helena then immediately picks up a phone from the ground, which the staff member dropped, as it had the face of a young woman in red clothing, she then looked at the staff member, who was trying to wriggle and struggle out of Richard's grip on him. Reisen then looks at Helena and the phone, and then back to Leon.

"So... how should we do this? Should we help the man?" Reisen asked him.

"Yeah. Let's find her." Leon stated, as he caught a glimpse of Liz's face from the staff member's phone. Richard immediately let go of the staff member, as he staggered forward, coughing violently again.

"Leon, we don't have the time to-" Helena complained.

"We're making the time." Leon coolly interrupted her.

"Well, this guy will end up stirring the campus, if we let him run around like this." Richard grumbled. "Alright, guy. Stay with us, and walk slowly and carefully. Don't do anything to jeopardise our safety, OK?"

The man nodded, as they left the room, making their way back to the dining hall, before hearing rumbling sounds in the distance.

"What was that sound?" Helena asked Leon, before something clattered on the ground, startling her to turn in the direction of the sound.

"They're scared." Leon answered back.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about, but I think that's not a good thing, right?" Richard asked Leon.

Leon didn't respond to his question, before they found that the dining room was dark, with the lights off.

"Who turned the lights off...?" Helena asked, as she immediately activated the flashlights on her hand-gun.

"Stay sharp." Leon warned everyone, as they all activated their flashlights, scanning and looking everywhere.

Halfway through the room, they heard the sound of glass clattering, before they looked up and saw a glass chandelier fall near them, causing them to look up for a moment, before continuing.

When they reached the back door of the hall, they immediately opened it, where they were blown with a mighty gust of wind.

"That's quite a draft!" Leon remarked.

"We need to find her." The staff member told the group.

"And we promised that we did. Just stay close." Reisen assured the staff member.

"Thank you..." He answered back, as they made their way to one of the doors, before the staff member entered another coughing fit, before then walking over and using his key to unlock the door, although the group of four looked worryingly at the staff member, before they followed him into a room with book displays.

They continued through the room, before the staff member immediately stopped again, as he began to gurgle and gasp, as if he was losing his ability to breathe.

"Alright, seriously. Are you even fine...?" Richard asked with a slightly irritated tone. "By the sounds of it, you either has serious bronchitis or lung problems, or you have something else on you, and not the good kind."

"I will be, once I find my daughter." The staff member answered back. "I called her cell, but we got cut off. I know that she's here... somewhere..."

They soon exit through the room, where they find a vintage elevator nearby, and a long corridor in the opposite direction.

"We'll need to get the elevator working again." Leon stated.

"It's locked, but I work here. I've got the keys." The staff member said as well. "Once we're in, we can take my car."

"Thanks for the offer." Richard courteously responded back.

They then heard the sound of a piano being played, causing the staff member to turn towards the corridor.

"Liz? Liz, is that you?" The staff member asked, before he then made his way down, with the group following him. When they reached the end of the corridor, they found a door that had a blood-stained hand-print on it, causing everyone to become tense.

"A bloody hand-print... A zombie or a severely wounded person has been here..." Reisen examined the hand-print.

"We can't take risks." Richard stated, before he then pulled out his bowie knife in a combat stance. "Stand back."

He then slowly opened the door, as the room had a grand piano in it, as well as a large trail of blood, that looked like skid marks, as if someone dragged themselves across the floor. They slowly followed the trail of blood, before a young woman in red clothing jumped out of nowhere, causing everyone to raise their weapons at the ready. She was barely standing on her feet, as her eyes looking quite fatigued, and there was blood on one side of her, before she collapsed on the ground.

Everyone put their weapons down, as Richard examined the girl, noticing that there was a distinct bite wound on her neck, causing Richard to grimace.

"Liz!" The staff member stated, as he rushed over to embrace her.

"Dad... Where are mom and Liam...?" She rasped back.

"They... They already got out." Liz's father told his daughter with a reluctant tone. "They're waiting for us at home."

He then lifted her up, supporting her, while Leon and the others immediately made their way to the elevator.

"How do we get out of this place?" Leon asked, as he looked at Richard, who had a tense expression on his face.

"The underground parking lot." Liz's father responded back, as he carried his weak daughter slowly across the corridor. "The elevator is just up ahead. Hopefully it still works."

They then encountered a series of wooden beams, that have fallen, obstructing their path. Richard and Reisen immediately walked over.

"Let us take care of this one. You get on past." Richard stated, as he and Reisen hefted the beams up for the others to pass through.

"I'm glad that you guys were here." Liz's father gratefully thanked the group.

They then reached the elevator, as Liz's father placed the elevator key into the slot, allowing the elevator doors to open for the others to get in.

Liz's father then laid Liz on the ground, as she was coughing just as violently as his father, with the others watching them closely.

"It's going to be OK, Lizzie." Liz's father attempted to comfort her injured daughter. "You're going to be OK."

Richard immediately glanced at Reisen, before giving her a small gesture, as Reisen immediately put her hands on her gun, ready to fire

When Liz rose her head, her eyes were red, as if the blood in her eyes ruptured. "Dad..." She gasped.

"We're almost there...!" Liz's father exclaimed.

Suddenly, Liz began to convulse, before she then let out a choked breath, as she fell to the ground unresponsive.

"Liz...?" Liz's father said, as he prodded her, expecting an response from her daughter, before the lack of one caused him to finally break, as he cried in sorrow and pain, as he bent down and wept loudly, before it devolved into another round of violent coughing, causing Richard to immediately prepare his knife at the ready.

Before he could immediately make any move, the lights in the elevator began to flicker, before it shorted out with a loud crash.

"The power...!" Helena exclaimed.

"Shit...!" Richard cursed. "Who knows if she's already turned or not...!"

They heard the father coughing, before he then let out a strangled gasp, before the sound of his body hitting the floor could be heard. And then the sound of flesh being chewed, which caused everyone to raise their weapons.

When the lights slowly recovered, the group could see the formerly alive Liz was chewing through his father's neck, before he then raised her bloodshot eyes at the group, before she then screeched, and lunged for Leon.

"Down!" Richard shouted, before he rushed towards the female zombie, before slitting her throat open with a wide swing, causing her to gargle and choke with rotten blood leaking out from the slash wound, before he then slammed the knife right into the centre of her brain, causing her to drop down dead again.

"I... I can't believe this." Helena remarked with a shocked tone.

"Well, get use to it. It's either them or us - and they don't hesitate." Leon responded back, before Richard then turned to him.

"Well, so much for altruism." Richard scoffed with a agitated tone, plucking the military knife out of Liz's corpse. "You didn't notice the signs that she was already turning, didn't you? I saw that damn bite wound on her."

"Then why didn't you kill her on the spot then?" Leon questioned back.

"Call me stupid, but I'm not one to let that old man watch his daughter get chopped in cold blood by me." Richard responded back with a shrug. "And look where that got him. Should have just done it anyway, if she was going to turn inside such a cramped space like this. And the old man was in the same situation, he's got longer, but he was going to turn either way, thanks to the gurgling I heard."

"How much do you know about the zombies?" Leon demanded.

"Enough to know how to survive." Richard retorted back. "I don't blame you for fulfilling that man's request, but you should have just dropped it when the signs appeared. You almost got yourself in a struggle, where you could have been bitten."

Leon didn't respond, before they heard the sounds of zombies on the other side of the elevator.

"I don't think we're alone in here..." Helena stated.

"Helena! Grab your gun." Leon stated.

"No need. I'll deal with this." Richard stated, as he immediately put up his assault rifle, and aimed one eye down the sights.

When the doors opened, there was a small handful of zombies trying to rush into the elevator, before Richard wasted no time shooting every single one of them in the head, as the rifle bursts tore their heads apart, causing the dead bodies to fall in front of them. They found themselves in a underground parking lot, just like Liz's father told them.

"Alright, let's get moving-" Richard told the others, before one of the wounded security guards of the compound staggered towards one of the inactive cars, before slamming into the hood of it unconscious, triggering the car alarm, and causing the nearby zombies to turn their attention towards the group. "Oh, fuck me! Run!"

The group immediately rushed out of the elevator, as Helena and Reisen kicked past any zombies that were directly obstructing their path, before they saw that on the other side of the closed gate, there was a large group of zombies groaning and clawing at them.

"That's our cue to get the hell outta here." Leon stated, as he looked back at the still active car-alarm, which was drawing more and more zombies inside the parking lot.

"I couldn't agree more." Helena nodded.

"Same here." Reisen agreed.

The group then immediately made a turn, before immediately busting into the security room, where they saw screens with footage of several angles and locations in the parking lot, as one of them had a pair of young students trying to get attention through the camera, with one holding up a sign with 'HELP' sprayed on it, and the other moving around and waving his arms. Behind them, a group of zombies slowly approached them, before they swarmed the teenagers, who tried to struggle away from their undead captors.

Leon immediately cocked his pistol, before he made his way to the door. "Let's go." He stated.

"Hold the fuck up, where do you think you're going, Leon!" Richard shouted. "We don't even know where the fuck they are! We are already too late to help them!"

Reisen looked at the camera feeds, as the zombies already overpowered the teenagers and started feasting on them, causing her to turn to Leon and shake her head slowly.

"You're right." Leon stated with a slightly clipped tone. "Let's get the hell outta here."

They then immediately exited the security room from the other door, as they moved up a flight of stairs, taking them to another wing of the university.

"He said it was some sort of fog." Leon recalled. "If this things spreads in gas form... Then anyone who breathed it in got infected."

"That would mean... everyone on campus." Helena continued the line of thought.

"Well... That's problematic..." Richard hissed.

"Yeah. But then why's it so quiet here?" Leon asked. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Get in line." Richard sighed, before he then opened a door, leading into a abandoned lecture room. The group immediately made their way across the room, before Leon accidentally kicked a empty drink can down the room, attracting the zombie in the room, who stood up and limped towards them. However, the moment it did, Reisen shot it down with two shots to the head.

"This room is closed until further notice." Reisen stated, before she lowered her gun, and the others made their way out of the lecture room, into a corridor looking over the university square, where there is a lot of zombies roaming in it.

They then roamed through a series of classrooms, going through them to get past the piles of debris that were blocking the path in the corridor, as they took down any zombies in their way with whatever they had in their own hands, and even managing to collect some items that were strewn on the ground, such as coloured herbs, and ammunition for the handguns.

When they managed to get down to the ground floor again, they stacked up on the door to the square, before Richard smashed it open with a strong kick, as the others rushed out, sprinting across the square, away from the chasing zombies, before they came up on a gate with a electronic lock on it.

"Hunnigan, the gate's locked. Anything you can do?" Leon asked Hunnigan through his phone.

"Sorry, not from here." Hunnigan answered back. "Try the staff building behind the bleachers. I'm guessing that you'll find keys for the gate there."

"Got that." Leon stated, as they immediately turned around and went for the staff building, as they pushed open the doors, into a long corridor, with a door that is locked electronically. "Keep that trigger finger ready. Never know what's around the next corner."

"Got it." Helena nodded, as she went up to the door's controls, as she inputted a series of commands, before the door's light immediately blared red, causing a loud siren to sound off.

"We need to be prepared for zombies...! I can see them from both sides of the corridor!" Reisen alerted everyone, as they took positions on the ends, with their guns ready.

"Hunnigan, the door's locked! There's no way out!" Leon informed Hunnigan.

"I'm on it! Just give me a minute!" Hunnigan responded back, as the sounds of tapping keys could be heard from her side.

Zombies immediately smashed and crawled their way from every single window in the corridor, group by group, as the four survivors gunned down each and every zombie in their way, aiming for head-shots when possible, and using the objects around them, as Richard shot a pressurised fire extinguisher to take down a group of zombies clustered together around it, thinning out the numbers of the horde.

"There's so many! We can't take them all!" Helena shouted, as she downed another zombie with a head-shot.

"Now we know where all the infected were hiding out!" Leon answered back, as he burst a zombie's head with a roundhouse kick.

"Well, that's not to our damn benefit! In fact, that just makes it all the worse!" Richard yelled, as he plunged his knife in the head of a nearby zombie, before kicking them towards a group of approaching zombies, staggering them, and allowing him time to switch to his assault rifle and gun them down.

"I have to agree with my partner." Reisen stated, as she immediately pistol-whipped a zombie hard enough to break their head open, before taking out a set of zombies with rapid shots.

"Any day now, Hunnigan! We gotta get out of here!" Leon shouted to Hunnigan.

"I've almost got it! Hang on!" Hunnigan stated, before the door's light turned green, and the alarm stopped. "It's open! Get out of there, now!"

The group immediately rushed for the door, shoving any zombies in their way away from them, before Richard immediately pulled out a fragmentation grenade,and ripped the pin with his teeth, and dropping it at his feet. As soon as everyone got in, Helena slammed the door hard, although a few zombies managed to jam themselves between the door, before being shot back by the others. Helena immediately slammed the door shut when the zombies were off the door, and placed the wooden board over the door, keeping it securely shut, before the grenade exploded, taking out most of the zombies rushing at the door.

"It's just one surprise after another!" Leon grumbled, before everyone immediately swept through the staff building, before they managed to find a campus keycard in one of them, before they rushed back, only to find that several zombies have already made their way to the staff building's entrance.

"I'll take care of this." Reisen stated, as she slammed a fresh clip into her handgun, before taking out the zombies in front of them.

They then rushed for the campus exit, where Helena slotted the keycard into the gate's reader, causing to rise just enough for the others to squirm under, which the others did, before they encountered security detector gates and machines in their way.

"Let's NOT trigger the damn thing, shall we?" Richard remarked, as they immediately moved over the series of boxes that was blocking the way around the metal detectors, before they pushed past a door to get out of the university, and onto the streets.

"You're almost there! Take a right up ahead!" Hunnigan advised them, as the group did what she said, running down the zombie-infested streets, before they caught side of a intact police car in front of them.

"I think we just found our ride outta here!" Leon remarked, as everyone immediately dived into the car, with Leon on the driver seat. A zombie immediately crawled on top of the car's hood, as it pressed against the glass, trying to break through it. He then looked at the ignition slot, and noticed that there was no keys on it. "Damnit, no keys!"

"Look on the sun visors, it's the oldest trick in the damn book!" Richard advised Leon, who immediately pulled down the one on his side, as there was a set of keys for the car. "Told you! Now get us moving!"

Leon immediately ignited the car, before he then throttled the car forward to shake the zombie off the hood, before he then saw the zombies behind him. "All of you buckled in?"

"What are you, a jester or something? Of course! Worry about the damn zombies than the damn seatbelts!" Richard burst out with outrage.

"Fine, then hold on!" Leon stated, as he immediately whirled the car around in a three-point turn, before driving out of the street, bowling past the group of zombies. "We made if off campus. Now we just need gotta get through town..."

"...Without getting killed." Helena finished off, before a zombie immediately dropped down towards Leon's side of the car, hanging upside-down. "What...!?"

Leon immediately whirled the car into a vigorous swerve, although doing so caused the car to flip across the ground, with Richard muttered expletives each time the car rolled around, until the car stopped, upside-down, as the engine exploded in flames. Everyone immediately crawled out of the car, slightly bruised, but not considerably injured from the experience.

"Fuck...! There goes the damn ride...!" Richard cursed.

"Leon! Helena! Are you two alright?" Hunnigan asked with worry. "And who are the other two voices? Are they survivors as well?"

"Sort of. They seem to be mercenaries on the hunt for the truth behind this outbreak, like us." Leon explained. "So far, they've been considerable help in dealing with the zombies here. And we're all hanging in there. But we need another way to the cathedral."

"Well, I've found an underground route that may be safer." Hunnigan suggested.

"The sewers... great." Leon bemoaned.

"I don't personally mind. Hope you won't mind the damn darkness and stench, Helena." Richard stated, before he then walked over to a manhole, pulling the cover off, and climbing down into it.

The others followed, as they turned their flashlights on again, looking around for anything nearby. They saw a rat crawling across the ground, before they heard the sound of zombie growling coming from a opening on top of them.

"We should hurry." Helena stated with urgency.

"What's the matter? Not a fan of sewers?" Leon asked her.

"I have to agree with Helena. That growling is not good news." Reisen responded back.

"Come on, let's just get to the cathedral, and then I'll tell you everything, Leon." Helena replied back to Leon.

"It's going to be a tough road." Leon stated, with a guilt-filled look on his face.

"Don't worry. We'll be able to handle this, if we can take this carefully." Reisen assured both Leon and Helena.

The group of four then immediately continued down the sewers, as they managed to reach a door that was leading to a subway tunnel.

"Leon, Helena. We'll be out of contact when you're in there." Hunnigan warned Leon and Helena. "I'll still be tracking your movements, but be careful.

"Got that." Leon noted, as they hopped down into the subway tunnel, as they brushed past the zombies loitering around in the tunnels, before they heard the distant sound of a train's horn in the tunnel.

"Train's coming!" Helena alerted everyone, as they all stuck to the side of the tunnel walls, as the train immediately roared past them, crushing all zombies in its tracks, before everyone immediately got off the walls. "How are the trains still running!?"

"There was no one at the controls... Zombie express." Leon reasoned.

"Damn.. Then we might have to deal with more trains while we walk through here." Richard groaned.

As they made their way through the tunnels, they were assaulted by zombie and zombified dogs, as they had to take care of the dogs with quick reflexes, who were nimble enough to close the distance between them in mere seconds.

Just as soon as Richard managed to catch a zombie dog with a downwards kick, before crushing the downed dog's head with a hard stomp, he then heard the sound of another train coming. "TRAIN!" He yelled, before he immediately backed onto the tunnel wall.

Everyone immediately dodged the train, as it took out the zombies approaching them, before they continued on, down through a passage leading to another set of subway tunnels, when Helena's and Leon's flashlights were dying out, the light flickering on and off at times.

"Great... How that's for timing?" Leon grumbled.

"Mine's out too. I'm almost blind here." Helena said as well.

"Let me and my partner illuminate the way then." Richard offered, as he spotted a crawling zombie under his feet, to which he stomped its head into paste, before continuing down into the other subway tunnel, where there was light. However, there was also plenty of zombies in their way as well, as well as two train tracks.

"Not my lucky day." Leon sighed.

"If you call this lucky, then I don't want to know what you have to deal with on a normal day in your work." Richard shuddered, before he then fired his assault rifle to thin out the horde a little, before a train came towards them, causing the group to move to the other track, as most of the remaining horde were pulverised by the moving train.

Leaving the few zombies remaining alone, they continued down, until they encountered a broken down train, which was blocking the path ahead. Richard immediately climbed up on the platform, before jostling the only available door to get in, only for it to be locked.

"Damn... It's locked." Richard growled.

"We're not getting that open." Leon stated.

"I want to have a look around in there. Boost me up on top." Helena told Leon.

"Just don't leave me behind." Leon responded back, as he boosted Helena onto the top of the train, before she then dropped down into the carriage through one of the open hatches, before there was the dying cries of a zombie and gunfire from Helena, before the lock on the train's door was undone, allowing the others to come into the nonfunctional train.

They checked it carriage by carriage, before they managed to reach the end of the train, where there was a open door for them to get out into the subway tunnel again. Continuing along the tunnel, they reached another platform, except the path to the surface was locked behind a shutter door, and there was another nonfunctional train in the platform, except it looked better than the one they went through.

When they made for the shutter door, they heard a crashing sound, which caused them to turn around, as a group of zombies was on the platform, shambling towards them. And Richard caught sight of a plump woman in a pink dress running towards the door, as she slammed her hands on the glass.

"Hey! Hey! I need you to open this door! Hurry!" She begged. "I have to save Peter! Please!"

While Leon and Helena gunned down the zombies, Richard and Reisen immediately went to the doors, as they pulled them open with their combined strength.

"We'll never get to the cathedral at this rate." Helena muttered, before she then immediately scrambled for the shutter door's control. "Wait, no! Don't open that!"

"Goddamnit, why does every single damn survivor we meet has a death wish or something!?" Richard fumed, before he aimed his assault rifle towards the shutter door, ready for whatever zombie horde was going to come out of it.

"Oh god, Peter! Peter, hang on! I'm coming!" The ignorant woman shouted, as the shutter doors slowly raised up, before she was then jumped on by several zombies, as they bit and tore at her, as she screamed and shrieked in agony. The others immediately opened fire, as they took out the horde, before they could get close, or finish their meal on the woman.

As the group brushed past, Richard took one last glance at the bitten and mutilated corpse of the woman, before shaking his head with solemn eyes. They then continued up through the station, before they reached the gate that would take them up to the surface.

"Good, you made it. You can reach the street level from there." Hunnigan reported to them.

"What are conditions up there?" Leon asked back.

"It's gotten pretty bad. 'Hell on Earth' isn't much of a stretch." Hunnigan answered.

"Well, ready to start preparing for having to deal with just as many zombies in groups above us?" Richard asked Leon and Helena.

"Yeah." Leon nodded, before he then kicked the gate open, as they immediately entered through it, making their way to the streets.


	2. Leon Chapter 2

Unmei Force Infection

Leon Chapter 2: Survivor Blues

* * *

_On the streets..._

Leon, Helena, Richard and Reisen immediately made their way out of the subway tunnel, onto the streets, which was crawling with zombies.

"You two will have to cross that part of the town to get to the cathedral." Hunngian notified them. "Keeps your lines open, in case you run into trouble."

Richard then looked around, before he noticed a zombie in a firefighter's uniform was rushing towards them with a fire axe in its arm to chop at them.

"On the right!" Richard shouted, before he immediately evaded the zombie's swing, before he then immediately caught the axe by the handle, before kicking the zombie away from him, and then using its own axe to split the head open, killing it. He then immediately shook the axe, getting some of the grimy blood on it on the ground. "This will do for me. Hey, you have knives of your own, right, Leon and Helena?"

"Yeah, we do." Leon nodded back.

"Good, let's keep moving." Richard responded back, as they immediately ran down the street, before they heard screeching sounds, as the headlights of a car appeared in their vision, as the car came their way.

"All of you, look out!" Helena warned them, as they immediately backpedalled as far as they could, as the car immediately drifted around in a attempt to shake the zombies on top of it, before swerving into a fire hydrant, which knocked the car up on one side, and flinging the zombies far away, before it then righted itself, with fire coming out of its engine.

As soon the hazard has passed by, they immediately continued on, although Leon took the moment to immediately prepare medicine, by grinding and mixing the herbs together. "Why do I feel like this is just the tip of the iceberg...?" Leon muttered.

They soon continued on, before finding a pile of broken cars, as on one side was a large bus that seemed abandoned, and a set of cars jammed together, with one of them having a struggling man underneath it, as he tried to wrench his lower half free from under.

"Hold on, I'll get you out!" Leon shouted, as he and Helena immediately got on work with the car, as they managed to push it slowly along. As they did, Richard and Reisen immediately squeezed past the opening, as they made sure to keep an watch for any zombies, although they got a surprise in the form of a running motorcycle that was coming out of one of the streets, as it swerved around, before it tried to U-turn, as Richard and Reisen immediately moved to safety.

However, the motorcycle immediately crashed into the broken car that Leon and Helena were moving, as it knocked the car aside with great force into the bus, as crunching bones could be heard and the man's agonised screams of pain, since the car's wheels crushed his legs while it was knocked aside. Leon and Helena were knocked back from the car, while the helmeted driver was flung over the car, right through the bus's window, causing several zombies to rise up and lean out to reach for the survivor.

"Help me! Help me please!" The man begged. "I don't want to die!"

"Leave him! He's dead meat either way!" Richard shouted, before he immediately fired his weapon at the bus's zombies, in a attempt to stave them off, for Leon and Helena to get moving, although there were too many for him to hold on for much longer. The agent duo immediately did so, just as several zombies dropped from the bus, and swarmed the disabled man, and feasted on him, with his screams ringing across the town, with Leon giving off a guilty expression, looking away from the scene.

"Hunnigan was right... Everything's gone to hell!" Leon exclaimed.

"We do not have enough time and resources to deal with all these zombies. We need to find a way out of the streets, or at least a place more secure than here." Reisen suggested.

They immediately went into one of the alleys, where they took a ladder to get above onto the scaffolding, as a large group of zombies were under them. Leon and Richard thinned out the numbers greatly, by throwing grenades in the places with the highest concentration of zombies, before they reached a gap, where they traversed the gap one by one, before Richard, who was the last to jump, was snagged by a zombie, just as he landed, causing him to fall down.

He growled, turning around and swinging his axe on the zombie's arm, severing it with a squelching sound, as the zombie fell to the ground minus an arm, while Richard got up and kicked the amputated undead limb off the edge. They then immediately moved along the rest of the scaffolding, dropping down before a rusted door, which Reisen kicked open, allowing them to continue through the streets.

They watched as there was a burst of flames towards their right, as a car that was being assaulted by zombies broke through a barricade of burning barrels and metal shutters, along with a small group of zombies that stopped and noticing the group.

"Having a bad case of deja vu here..." Leon grumbled, as he immediately used his handgun to take down the closest zombies, while Reisen and Helena gunned down the rest.

They then entered another alleyway, as Richard used the fire axe in his hands to bisect a attacking zombie in their way, before Reisen shot down a zombie that was near the ladder that would take them to another set of scaffolding. They climbed up and moved along the way, only to be blocked by a empty dumpsters that was obstructing their way forwards. The four of them worked together to push off the dumpster, as it fell onto a car, triggering the alarm, and eliciting a curse from Richard's mouth.

"They're going to be all over us with that alarm going off." Helena stated.

"Only if we wait here. Come on!" Leon beckoned, as he immediately climbed up, as the others followed, crossing a bus that was over the scaffold, before dropping down to get on the streets, where their way was blocked by car wrecks. They made a turn right, in order to make a way around the wreckage, only for a large van to appear out of nowhere, and jam the alley from allowing them to pass by. "Guess we're not going that way."

They immediately went to the door of the only building they could get in, which looked like a bar from the sign, as they slowly opened the door, and entered the unlit bar.

"Good idea. You'll be safer if you keep indoors as much as possible." Helena praised their choice.

"Maybe we can even catch our breath." Leon remarked.

"Catch it? Unlikely." Richard scoffed at the notion, before they made their way past the bar, getting out in the backyard, where they found a single zombie wandering around, as Helena ended it with a head-shot, before they made their way to another door, one that led into a small residence, into the living, where the TV was on, although it was faulty. As they made their way through, they listened to the looping message.

"...The Navy Submarine went missing on the 26th of this month, at 11:27pm. However, a final transmission was received from the vessel before it's disappearance..."

Reisen immediately tried the door that would take them out of the house, as she jiggled the door-knob, noticing that it was locked, as she shook her head at the group, causing them to search the house for the key.

Leon then immediately found the keys in another room, as the pale bodies of two residents lied on a sofa, as one of them had the keys strapped to her waist. The third resident in the room was on the ground, as there was blood-stains on the ground where he was. When he snatched the key, as if triggered by the event, the resident on the ground rose up, as he was completely zombified and growling. Leon immediately silenced him with a shot to the head, before rushing back, where the others were waiting.

Leon then immediately thrust the door key into the door, as they opened it, leading them into a small section, which was barred by a steel gate. Richard watched as a panicked survivor tried to rush towards them, slamming himself on it, panting frantically, before he was pounced by the zombie chasing him, as both of them fell to the ground, with the zombie eating the poor man alive. He then turned around and kicked the door on his side open, as there was a zombie feasting on a dead survivor on the other side, although it seemed a lot plumped around the neck, and after it finished feasting, its neck began to expand and grow, all while pumping in and out at rapid rates, as if it was about to explode, before it then turned around and released a ear-piercing scream that causing the group to cover their ears, while attracting the attention of every zombie that was near enough to hear it, as they moved towards the gate, and started crawling over it.

"What is that...!?" Helena exclaimed.

"Fuck.. a screamer!" Richard shouted, before he immediately raised his assault rifle, while the zombie immediately began to suck in air, as its neck began to grow again in size. "Kill it, before it screams again!"

Leon, getting the message, immediately shot the air sac of the screamer open, causing it to deflate, before Richard splattered its head on the wall with his shots.

"Ugh, that scream... It's like nails on a chalkboard." Leon complained on the screamer's roar.

"Get used to it! That bastard can disorient you with its screaming if you're too close to it! And it attracts all the zombies around here with its wailing!" Richard shouted. "Next time you think you see a zombie like that, shoot its throat out before it can goddamn burst your ears open!"

They immediately made their way through the next few rooms, before ending up in a large area, where there were two sets of buildings, each with their own porch, with a door that seemed to be locked from the other side, where one of the buildings are. The zombies, still attracted from the screamer's call, was swarming into the area, as Leon and Helena immediately took the stairs up to the top of one of the porches, while Richard and Reisen held the zombies at bay with their weapons.

Leon immediately placed his hands together low, in a vaulting position, before Helena positioned herself straight towards Leon,as she ran and then stepped onto the foothold that Leon was making with his hands, and he flung her over to the other side. "Up and over!" Leon exclaimed.

Helena landed on the other side safely, before she then made her way down, and unlocked the door, allowing the others to get through, while Helena locked the door behind them, to give them some time to get away from the pursuing zombies. After getting through the rest of the rooms, they managed to finally find an exit to the streets, as they busted open the double doors, and found themselves in a junction, with a gas station nearby. And on one corner of the station, there was a police officer shooting at a group of zombies approaching him, and a young couple, who were armed with pistols as well.

"Why is this happening!?" The female of the couple screamed, before the zombies get yet closer, as she panicked and fired randomly. "No! I don't wanna die!"

"Survivors! Come on, we have to help them!" Leon exclaimed.

"At least these ones aren't bitten at all. Alright, on it." Richard stated.

Richard immediately rushed over, as Leon and Helena immediately followed him, before they got in range to shoot the zombies, while Richard cleaved the zombies with his fire axe.

"Die you cannibal freaks!" The man of the couple shouted, as he fired shots into the body of a zombie, before Reisen finished the job with a head-shot.

"Where the hell are they coming from?" The police officer wailed with a fearful tone. "My first day as a cop, and already I'm in a shootout!"

"I'll die before I become a zombie!" The man exclaimed, as he immediately loaded another clip into his gun, as he made his way forward, shooting down the zombies in his way.

"Peter, don't leave me!" The woman begged.

"Are you kidding me? I don't need you slowing me down!" Peter shouted back with a annoyed tone.

"Oi, where the hell do you think you're going!?" Richard roared at Peter.

"Stay calm, people! Choose a target before shooting!" The police officer told everyone.

"Who made you the leader!?" Peter shouted, as he continued to fire at the zombies.

Richard then noticed the zombies that was coming their way, as there was a screamer on top, the reason for why the zombies are here. He immediately shot down the screamed with a precise burst, stopping it from doing any more damage to the situation.

"Peter, wait!" The woman said, as she rushed after Peter.

"Forget him! He'll just get you killed!" Leon shouted to the woman.

"Who asked you!?" The woman bitingly snarled back, before she then shouted. "Help! Somebody help!"

"If you wanna live, stop crying and shoot those damn things!" Peter screamed at his girlfriend.

Richard was then attacked from behind by a zombie, as it grappled him from behind, as he struggled to get the zombie off him, before then shoulder-bashing the zombie from him, and then using the axe to cut down the zombie. However, while he was doing that, a ambulance immediately smashed into the area, towards Richard.

"Look out!" Reisen shouted to Richard, who heard her, before turning around and seeing the ambulance careening towards him, as he was too late to dodge. He was immediately slammed hard by it, as he was sent flying across the ground, before rolling a few times on the ground, and then stopping against the wall, as he clutched his chest in pain.

"What the hell..!?" Helena muttered, as she saw the ambulance crash into the gas station, as it began to smoke from the damage.

Reisen immediately walked over to Richard. "Are you alright?" Reisen asked with slight worry.

"Of fucking course not..." Richard strained back with a pained expression. "Fuck... That hurts... any painkillers on you?"

"Of course, just let me..." Reisen was about to say, before she saw a group of raiders come out of the back of the van, as they pointed their guns threateningly at the group and the survivors. "Let me take that gun."

Reisen immediately snatched the assault rifle from Richard's hands, as she immediately switched it to full-auto, as she immediately gunned down the raiders before they could even start shooting. Leon immediately walked over, and stabbed a syringe of medicinal fluid on Richard, as his pain lessened significantly, as if it was morphine inside the syringe, as he stood back up, before Leon offered him a medicinal bottle.

"You're asking me to take the stuff inside?" Richard asked, before Leon nodded. "Well then, thanks for the medicine."

He then immediately opened the bottle up, before dispensing a few pills of herb medicine onto his palm, before ingesting it, as the mixture of herbs soothed his pain greatly.

Helena noticed that the hijacked ambulance knocked off a fuelling station, as the oil valve below was gushing out petrol at a alarming rate.

"Someone shoot the gas! We can blow these things to kingdom come!" Peter shouted.

"Wait for us to move out first." Reisen stated, as the survivors and the group immediately backed to a safe distance. "Alright. Got it."

She then fired her handgun at the ground near the broken oil valve, as the bullet created sparks on hitting the ground, which lit the petrol, causing the entire station to explode, and taking most of the zombies nearby with it in flames.

"Hey, come on! It's safer here!" The police officer beckoned the other survivors to follow him, as he immediately lead them. "There's a gun shop up ahead. We can rearm there. We'll probably find more people there too."

"What do you think?" Leon asked the others.

"Taking the chance. I need ammo for the assault rifle." Richard answered back. "And we need as much bullets as we can, when we make the rest of the way to the cathedral."

"I don't see any other options,so I have to agree with him." Helena seconded the idea.

The group and the survivors immediately entered through one of the larger buildings, as they walked behind it, to get to a steel door. They entered through it, and found themselves in a legitimate gun store, with ammo piles and various weapons in showroom cases, as the windows were already broken, with some of them being boarded up for protection from the zombies.

"Hey! Is anyone there?" Peter shouted out loud.

"Yeah, me! I'm holed up on the second floor! Beat it!" A gruff old voice sounded from upstairs, as Peter climbed up the stairs, and banged on the closed door.

"Cmon, man! Open up! You gotta let us in!" Peter shouted back, as he began kicking the door.

"Forget it! Those things are crawling all over my shop! So unless you wanna get rid of them, this door stays closed!" The old voice on the other side replied back.

As Peter was banging on the door, Richard immediately slid open what weapon cases were unlocked, as he immediately pulled out a shotgun, and threw it at Leon.

"Here, you might need some close-up firepower when the time comes." Richard stated, as Leon caught it, before he then scavenged for shotgun shells, immediately loading some into the gun, as soon as he did.

"Thanks." Leon thanked Richard back, as he primed the shotgun.

"You're welcome. Right now, I need ammo for the rifle..." Richard responded back, before he then immediately pulled out one of the drawers, which had the ammo type he was looking for. "Jackpot."

He immediately then started stuffing ammo into his ammo pockets on the military vest, while Reisen immediately took a few top-condition grenades for the journey.

While the woman and the police officer were stocking up rounds for their handgun, Reisen immediately spotted a small horde of zombies coming their way.

"We got incoming." Reisen notified everyone.

"Who does he think we are, exterminators?" Leon sighed, as he readied the shotgun in his hands.

"FUCK!" Peter cursed, as he then walked down, and started to fire at the incoming horde.

"Just in time... I don't know whether I should be glad, or annoyed." Richard grunted, before he immediately started firing his rifle, while the others covered the other exposed side of the shop. Leon immediately put the new shotgun to use, as he kept on firing shell after shell at the closest zombies, either gibbing their torsos to meaty chunks, or splattering their heads across the street. Reisen immediately picked up a magnum that she took from one of the weapon cases, as she immediately fired shot after shot that tore the zombie's heads with such force that they had a clean hole blown through their heads.

As the woman made her way closer, in order to get a better shot, moving from window-to-window, she suddenly got grabbed by a zombie through the wooden boards.

"Aarrgh! Peter, help me!" The woman screamed, as she flailed around.

The police officer immediately noticed the woman in plight, and immediately responded by shooting the zombie grabbing her through the boards, as it staggered back, letting go of the woman, as she fell down on the ground.

"Take my hand!" The police officer told the woman, who did so, as he pulled her back onto her feet. "Are you OK!?"

"What're you, crazy!? Spare the heroics, she's just slowing us down, anyway!" Peter spat at the police officer, which made Richard incensed.

"Oi, poser! Less with that fucking lip, and more on shooting the fucking zombies!" Richard roared at Peter with a abrasive tone. "Who died and made you fucking judge and jury, dickhead?"

"What's the matter with you? She's your girlfriend, isn't she!" Helena complained at Peter as well.

"Don't waste your time. What he thinks doesn't concern us, Helena." Reisen advised Helena from trying to speak with Peter.

After they continued shooting down the zombies coming at them, they seemed to notice that the zombie numbers are dwindling considerably, meaning that there's not long until they're clear for the moment. However, at that moment, Peter's gun immediately jammed, causing the abusive man to immediately move back, as he viciously jiggled the gun in a attempt to get rid of the jam, even slapping the side of the gun with his bare fist a few times, cursing while he did so.

"Shit, my gun's jammed!" Peter cursed, before he immediately noticed his girlfriend sitting on the ground with her handgun, as she was trying to keep herself safe. He immediately rushed over, and grabbed the gun with force. "Give me your gun!"

The woman immediately tried resisting, as she accidentally fired a shot that caused Richard to turn around, as he was not pleased at what he was seeing.

"Get another gun from the racks, you asshole!" Richard screamed at him. "Your girlfriend needs that gun to survive!"

"Well, fuck her! And fuck you too, play-soldier!" Peter swore at Richard, giving him the middle finger, before he then immediately wrenched the handgun out. "Yeah, you idiots can fight it out if you want! I'm getting the hell out of here."

"Go get yourself bitten, you self-centred son of a bitch!" Richard fumed, as he returned the gesture back, while Peter immediately vaulted over one of the windows, and ran away from the gun store, before turning to the woman, who was curled up on the ground. He immediately took out the zombies in his sight, before immediately rushing over, and grabbing a new handgun and some handgun ammo, then handing it to the woman. "Here. Take care of yourself. Damn, you really should have done better than this prick."

"...Thank you." The woman responded back, as if she didn't care about Peter anymore.

The group and the police officer immediately continued their extermination of the zombies nearby, before they could see Peter running the opposite direction, as there was a nimble zombie chasing him.

"No! Stay back! Get the hell away from me! No!" Peter fearfully screamed, before he immediately fired a round that managed to hit the zombie's head, causing to fall like a sack of bricks onto the ground.

Peter immediately walked over to the downed zombie, with gun pointed at its head, before it immediately reacted when he got close, as it thrashed and swung at Peter, who backed away. It immediately stood back up, before blood began to spurt from the head and torso of the zombie, as it wriggled and swayed, as its head and body began to change in some sort of mutation, with the skin bulging out with each spurt, before there was a final burst of blood, before the zombie's head turned into a eyeless long-jawed head, and its body sported a large gaping maw that was formed from the rib-cage of the zombie, as there was a second tongue lolling out of it, leaking out putrid saliva.

Peter immediately fired at the mutated zombie, although it easily overcome Peter with newfound speed, pinning him down, as both mouths chewed into Peter, as he died screaming in utter agony.

"Peter, no!" His girlfriend screamed in horror.

"Screw him! It's his fault for being a selfish asshole and abandoning all of us for himself!" Richard shouted back. "Damn... I seen that variant before... Leon, when it gets in, I want to ram this fucker with as many shotgun shells as you can load in the single moment."

"Your concern is noted." Leon stated, as he used his handgun to take out the remaining normal zombies, conserving ammo for his shotgun.

The mutated zombie then finished eating off Peter's corpse, before it let out a loud hissing sound, before rushing over, and vaulting over one of the open windows, just as Leon prepared his shotgun, and Richard raised his rifle at it. With both of them firing rapidly at the mutant zombie, it was immediately torn to bloody pieces, before it could get the chance to move closer to anyone. There was a moment of silence, as everyone was on the edge from the zombie attack just before, as they slowly refilled their own personal ammo reserves.

"Hey! Pretty quiet down there... You guys still breathing...?" The old voice from the door called out to the survivors.

"Yeah... We've done your damn job, old timer." Richard responded back. "Your store is clean of any zombie infestation. Now, can you let us in? We need to get some more ammo, and I think that you have a stockpile that we can share. We can use it to help work together to get out of this damned place!"

"Alright. Get your asses up here, before I change my mind." The old voice relented, as the door was unlocked, with an old man standing in it, calling for everyone to get in, which the survivors did, before the old man closed the door, before a Japanese man, dressed in a blue shirt immediately bolted the door shut behind them.

"Nice work down there. Good news is, I've got some folks coming for me in a bus. Any minute now." The old gun-store owner told them. "If we can make it, it's a straight shot to the Cathedral. People are evacuating there. Heard it on the radio. But that's a big 'if'. It's a shit-storm out there. We ain't waiting for any stragglers."

Richard immediately gives Helena a knowing look, as she seemed to understand the meaning conveyed, as she immediately used the ammo stockpile in the room to refill her ammo stocks.

Reisen then immediately noticed there were a torch-wielding zombie on one of the alcoves that was leading to one of the open windows in the room, as she immediately downed the zombie with a head-shot, as everyone scrambled to defend themselves from another wave of zombies.

"Yo, Japanese dude! Get the shutters!" The old man shouted to the Japanese man, who was using an assault rifle.

"_Leave it to me_!" He responded back in fluent Japanese, as he leaned over the window and started firing at the approaching zombies.

"He speaks Japanese..?" Richard remarked, before he turned to the Japanese man, and switching to Japanese as well. "_Make sure you check every spot. Zombies could be hiding from every single shadow you can see from here._"

"_What...!? You can speak my language as well?_" The Japanese man exclaimed back.

"_That's not important. Just be careful. These zombies are much worse than you think._"

"_I see..._" The Japanese man nodded back at Richard, before continuing with the elimination of the zombies.

Soon another mutated zombie waltzed through one of the open corridor doors, as it tried to rush the survivors, only to be gunned down by Reisen, and have its head bashed to pieces by Helena's strong high kick. As the zombies died out, metal shutters began to slide over the windows, barring the zombies outside access into the room.

"We can't hold out here! Get in the next room!" The owner told everyone, before opening one of the door leading to another room in the building, as all the survivors followed him inside, as the room was without any windows for zombies to enter through, and the Japanese man immediately took the job of locking the door behind him securely.

There was silence, as everyone listened closely for any sounds, as they heard the sounds of zombies scurrying around the exterior of the entire building, as footsteps sounded above them, before they heard a series of heavy footsteps which shook the room. After a while, the footsteps stopped somewhere above the room, before the room then shook heavily, as the ceiling spewed dust from being shook, and everyone was slightly staggered by the shaking, before there was another shake, this one more stronger.

"_What is going on...!?_" The Japanese man asked.

"_Nothing good. Get ready._" Reisen answered back with Japanese to the foreign man.

And on the third shake, the ceiling gave way, as everyone was knocked off-balance, as a large and fat zombie dropped down into the room, as it then roared at them with a low growl.

"Damnit, any more weight and the floor's going to collapse!" The owner grumbled.

"They come in extra large now?" Leon made a light jab at the situation.

"Oh ha ha, want rotten fries with your XL zombie-burger?" Richard dryly answered back, before he immediately brandished his fire axe. "Tubby needs to lose weight, and if exercise isn't going to get that flab off, then I'm going to commit liposuction by incision on this tub of lard!"

He immediately then jumped up, and swung his axe brutally, chopping off some fat from the zombie, as the excised part began to leak spoiled blood all over the ground, as it let out a slow groan in response. Richard immediately repeated the same process several times over, side-stepping the fat zombie's swings at him, before it was brought down low.

While Richard took care of the fat large zombie, the others immediately opened fire at any other zombies who tried to enter the room through the hole made in the ceiling, as he slowly walked up to the fat zombie, before beheading it with a downward swing, in a executioner's pose.

"And stay down!" Richard spat, before he immediately shook the blood off the blade of the axe.

"This way! C'mon, move it! Move it!" The gun owner called out to everyone, as he immediately guided them through another door, leading them to the rooftops of the building, where they all looked around, and saw zombies that were on top of several surrounding buildings. As the old man took position behind the railing, he was suddenly ambushed from above by a falling zombie, which knocked him over the railing, as he grabbed onto the bars of the railing, struggling to get out up. "Christ on a crutch!"

"Help him up! I'll cover you all!" Leon stated, as Richard immediately got over and started to help lifting the gun owner on the ground.

"Forget about me! Just look after yourself!" The gun owner shouted to everyone.

"No, we're all gonna make it through this!" The woman said in a determined tone.

"Now's not the time to go out yet, old coot!" Richard shouted, as he was using his strength to lift the elderly man up over the railing. "This ain't exactly the blaze of glory you're looking for, so don't go saying all that bullshit until you can get it!"

Richard then turned around, and saw that there were more of the mutated zombies, as well as another fat zombies coming their way. "Oh, fuck me! _For fuck's sake! Don't fuck with me, you shambling pieces of rotten shit!_" Richard swore, continuing in Japanese, which caused the Japanese man to react at the string of swearing with a offended cry.

He immediately then lifted the man's hand on top of the gate. "Sorry, but I'll get you the rest of the way up soon! Just hang on there, will you?" Richard stated.

The old owner immediately nodded, as Richard immediately dual-wielded the axe and assault rifle in both hands.

"Alright, you fuckers! Let's dance!" Richard cried out, before he roared and raged at the zombies, firing with one hand and swinging the axe with the other, as he tore the zombies in front of him with ruthless and cruel efficiency. The others immediately supported him, by shooting down the zombies that were moving to surround him, stunning them long enough for Richard to sever their heads from their bodies in a counter-attack.

After a few moment, Richard was surrounded by the bodies of the zombies, as he was panting and huffing rapidly in exhaustion, while his weapon was dry of ammunition, and his axe's blade was completely caked in zombie flesh and blood.

"Woah, you sure know how to fight..." Leon praised Richard's skill.

"Thanks." He responded back, before he then immediately walked over, and pulled the gun owner up. "There, happy now?"

"Well, never expected to be saved." The gun owner responded back with a slightly amazed tone. "Guess I owe you one, kid."

"Save it, I don't think that you'll be able to repay the favour." Richard responded back. "Just stay alive and find a way out of this mess."

They then saw a large mobile bus move towards the street, before stopping in front of the building.

"That's the bus! Get on!" The gun owner instructed everyone, as they immediately ran down the building, where they had to drop down into an alley, before they rushed into the bus one by one, all while being chased by zombies, as Richard, Leon, Helena and Reisen gunned them down to protect the other survivors.

After everyone was seated, the four immediately got into the bus, as the bus driver immediately moved to close the bus doors, while Leon moved over to the bus driver.

"Get us out of here!" Leon shouted to him.

"I'm already getting to it!" The driver shouted back, as he immediately shifted the bus into gear, as the wheels began to move, before the bus was then stopped by something, as it reeled back slightly, causing those still standing to stumble along the ground. When he regained his footing, Leon saw the source, which was a fat zombie lifting the front of the bus up, as the wheels spun uselessly in the air. "Damn it! That tub of lard is in our way!"

Leon immediately prepared his shotgun, before Richard immediately rushed over, looking like he was at the brink of his patience, while the others were shooting down the zombies that were swarming around the bus.

"For FUCK'S sake! You zombies just like to cause trouble, huh!?" Richard snapped, as he immediately snatched the shotgun from Leon's hand, much to the agent's surprise. "Fuck this! I fill you up with so much lead, you'll fucking puke scrap, you bloated jiggly piece of shit!"

He then immediately loaded round after round into the shotgun, faster than what Leon could do, as it looked like he was rapid-firing it, when it was incapable of doing so, as the round slammed into the fat zombie's head and torso repeatedly.

"Die! DIE! DIE!" Richard screamed, before he then shoved the shotgun back into Leon's hands, before he then crawled out onto the bus's hood and stood up.

Richard then immediately pulled out a grenade, and bit the pin out of it , before then forcefully shoving the grenade right into the fat zombie's open mouth, and then slamming a powerful kick right into its mouth, causing its head to reel back and involuntarily swallow the grenade. Richard then immediately slid back inside the bus.

"Get ready to rev that damn engine when lard-ass blows his load!" Richard shouted to the bus driver.

"Right...!" The driver answered back, as the grenade then finally exploded, as it took out most of its abdomen, causing it to drop dead, as the bus was dropped back down, and the wheels immediately grinded what remained of the fat zombie into meat paste between the revolving wheels and the cemented road.

The bus immediately made out of the town, as Richard dropped down on the ground, completely exhausted.

"Whew... Damn... At least we managed to make it out of here alive." Richard huffed.

"Who are you...? You are most certainly no ordinary mercenary." Leon asked Richard firmly.

"Well, duh, Agent." Richard responded back with rolled eyes. "What kind of common mercenary would be able to cleave a fat one like that with just an axe? And who would be quick enough to jam a grenade into a zombie's mouth, kick it in, and then move out in a single motion? Man, you need to practice your foresight."

"I see. Can I least know your name?" Leon asked.

"Ah, yeah. May as well, since we're going to be stuck together for a while. Name's Kaz." Richard responded back with a nod, before pointing at Reisen with his thumb. "And she's Mira. We've been mercenaries for cash before, but that changed when this shitty virus came into being. We spent months dealing with all kinds of shit the zombies could give. So we're more experienced than all the other survivors here combined, no joke on that. But then again, strength in the right numbers. Isn't that right, Leon?"

"Yeah." Leon nodded, as he immediately kept watch, while the bus finally left the town, and moved towards the cathedral.


	3. Leon Chapter 3

Unmei Force Infection

Leon Chapter 3: Path to Cathedral

* * *

_In the bus heading towards the cathedral... _

"You know about Umbrella...?" Helena asked Richard.

"We weren't there for the last few incidents, if that's what you're asking. We heard about how they fucked up Raccoon city with their virus." Richard scoffed back. "No way anyone wants a damn repeat of zombies again."

"This is Raccoon City all over again." Leon responded back to Hunnigan.

"That's all the news I got. Now it's your turn to help me, Leon." Hunnigan stated. "I need to know what's in the cathedral. I've got suits breathing down my neck for info."

"Suits?" Leon asked, as Richard scowled at the mention of the word, and Reisen glared at Leon.

"Specifically, Derek , National Security Advisor." Hunnigan answered back.

Helena immediately turned her attention to Leon and the phone, while Richard's growl turned into snarling, as he gripped the side of the bus tightly.

Reisen did not seem to care about the conversation currently occurring, as her attention was square onto what's in front of her, as the bus's headlight illuminated a walking zombie.

"Hang on!" The bus driver exclaimed, as Leon immediately pocketed the phone, as they all held on tight onto their sides of the bus.

The zombie then cocked his head towards the bus, before growling, as it was ran over without much effort. However, the zombie managed to cause the bus to swerve out of control, as the slippery surface of the road caused by the rain prevented the bus from being able to stop sliding. The driver immediately spun the wheel in a attempt to right the bus, although it slid across a large bump, that slammed the four of them into the back of the bus strongly, dazing them slightly.

As they were trying to get their bearing back, the bus immediately came to a halt, hanging off the edge of a small cliff, as zombies, attracted by the lights on the bus, immediately swarmed over it.

"No...! NO-!" The abandoned girl screamed, as she was dragged out of one of the broken windows of the bus, before she was made quick work of by the feasting zombies outside.

"No! Help me! Please God, help!" The policeman wailed, as he was taken out by the bus hatch on the roof.

As the four barely got their senses back, the bus lurched again, lower down towards the cliff, as they fell prone.

"Son of a- Get off me!" The driver shouted, as he struggled against a zombie trying to bite him.

"Ah shit!" Leon exclaimed.

"Shoot! For all that's holy! SHOOT!" Richard yelled, as he immediately used his side-arm to fire into the group of zombies clambering into the bus, as the other survivors did the same, tearing the zombies in front of them down, as the bus began to lurch bit-by-bit.

"We're about to go over!" Helena warned everyone, as the bus jolted again.

"Brace yourselves! We might need to get out quickly, when we land down!" Reisen advised everyone, as the gun-shots didn't stop coming from them.

Suddenly, they saw lights flashing through the front windows of the bus, as it grew brighter and brighter, with the sound of a truck horn coming closer.

"Aw, son of a fucking-" Richard cussed, before there was a loud and heavy crash, as the bus immediately flew over the cliff, with the occupants in it floating in the middle of it, as if in zero-gravity, before the bus crashed down the cliff-side, rolling over several times, and coming to a stop.

When Leon got up, he saw that he and Helena were lucky enough to be outside of the bus, as the bus was already on fire. He then looked for Richard and Reisen, and found the latter dragging the former out of the flaming wreckage of the bus, with several bruises on Reisen, and blood spilling on Richard's forehead, from an large gash on it, as he was completely unresponsive.

Leon then looked back at the bus, as the driver, who was pinned in the bus, tried to reach a hand out to call for help, before the bus exploded in a spray of metal and fire, causing the entire bus to be a flaming wreckage, without any means of escape within it, condemning those who survived the explosion to a slow demise by burning.

"They escape the infection... Only to die like this." Leon muttered with a solemn tone, looking at the bus wreckage.

"There's no time to grieve..." Helena answered back with sufficient pause, shaking her head. "We have to get to the cathedral."

Leon then immediately moved over, as he checked onto Richard, who was still unconscious, as Reisen immediately worked on bandaging his head-wound. At the same moment, Leon's phone rang.

"Leon! Helena! Are you OK? I heard the crash and explosion on the other end!" Hunnigan frantically called out.

"Yeah, for whatever reason, we're still alive." Leon answered back. "The same can't be said about one of the two mercenaries. Kaz, as he calls himself, managed to get a nasty head injury from the fall, and the one tending him right now is Mira. We're waiting until he wakes up, before we proceed."

After a few moments, Richard finally gave some response, as his fingers twitched, and his eyes creased a little, before he blinked them.

"...Ungh..." Richard groaned, before he slowly sat up, clutching the wounded side of his head. "What happened...? I remember what happened a few moments ago... The bus flew off the cliff thanks to that damn truck, and then... I banged my head on something, and I lost all consciousness."

He then looked around, before he saw the burning bus. "Oh... I guess that explains what might have happened just then." Richard muttered.

"Are you alright, Kaz?" Leon asked with concern. "Your friend patched your head wound, and it looked quite serious. Are you sure that you are fine?"

"Other than dull pain in the head, and the bleeding..." Richard answered back, patting the bandage on his head. "I'm working at full capacity. It takes more than a smack to the head to do anything serious to me. So don't worry about me. We should get to the cathedral as soon as possible, so that we can find some clues about how this all happened."

"We would need to cut through the cemetery, to reach the cathedral." Helena explained.

"Then let's get moving." Reisen responded back, as she readied her hand-gun.

The four of them proceeded slowly through the cemetery, covering each other, as the moment a zombie peeked out, or approached them, either one of them would put them down with a few shots to the head. They continued along the way, until they reached a run-down cottage. When they entered it, they noticed that one of the doors was closed, as Helena moved to open it. Just as she did, a zombie dog jumped out of it, as Reisen immediately killed it with a shot to the head, both events startling Helena to the point that she fell onto the ground for a moment, as she got back up.

"Damn... Almost got your head taken off..." Richard hissed, before he then noticed that there was a key in the dog's mouth, as he picked it up. "Hey... Leon, do you think this should open the way up?"

"We don't know that for sure. Let's search for the door." Leon suggested, as he swiped the key from Richard's hand.

The four of them left the cottage, as they made their way to one of the cemetery's gates, as Leon tried the key onto it, unlocking the gate, and allowing the others to get through it, before Leon locked the gate behind them for safety.

When they went through the gate, there was a blinding light, coming from a nearby thunder-bolt merging with the lights of the cathedral, causing Leon to shield his eyes from the combined light. However, in doing so, he left himself open to a scrambling zombie, which grappled him, as Richard immediately tried to take out with shots, only for Leon to be pushed over the broken fence, falling into the lower parts of the cemetery.

"Leon!" Richard exclaimed, before he then ran up and leapt off the broken ledge, and rolling across the ground on landing, before he approached Leon. "You alright?"

"Funny, I should be asking you." Leon grumbled back. "You're the one with the head wound here."

"We should meet up on the other side." Reisen stated. "I assume that there is a point where we can all regroup at, as long as we follow along our individual paths."

"Got it." Richard gestured back to Reisen and Helena, as the two female survivors immediately ran along, just as Leon and Richard passed through the maze of tombs around them.

Richard immediately found a screamer poised for ambush, as he immediately pulled out his assault rifle, and blew the inflated vocal cords of the screamer before it could unleash its disorienting attack, causing it to gobble and choke like a dying chicken, before falling dead.

"Thank god for that..." Richard muttered, as the two of them proceeded through, until they managed to reach the last gate to the cathedral itself, as Reisen and Helena came shortly after.

"Man, you're a sight for sore eyes." Leon commented.

"Thanks. You're coming into this cathedral with me or what?" Helena replied back, as they moved to the final gate, before they pushed it open.

They then looked around, as the front porch of the cathedral showed little signs of struggles being on it, with only a few zombie corpses on the ground, and spent shells on several places. It was a fairly confined rectangular space, with trees erected on the sides. Helena then immediately walked up to the large doors of the cathedral, before banging her fist against it.

"Hello? I know someone's in there! Open up!" Helena cried out.

"Are you crazy!?" The male muffled response was heard by all four of the survivors. "Those things will kill us!"

"Look, it's just us! Hurry up and let us in!" Leon replied back, before he then saw that there were zombies climbing over the fences and gates into the area.

"Bullshit I will! I can hear them out there!" The man behind the door swore, as Richard and Reisen immediately started firing at the approaching zombies.

"OK, OK, We'll get rid of them first!" Helena caved in, as she immediately turned and opened fire as well.

As they fought with the zombies, with Richard getting up close with the staggered zombies to cut them apart with his bowie knife, and Leon using his shotgun to take out groups of zombies, there was the sound of footsteps behind the door.

"Paul! Is someone out there? You gotta let them in!" Another male voice, much older than the first, said.

"And let a bunch of walking corpses in with them!? Are you nuts!?" Paul screeched back.

Leon immediately found himself almost grabbed by a zombie, as he slammed the butt of the shotgun into the zombie's face with excessive force, caving the skull of the undead being, and killing it, while Leon pulled the shotgun's butt with a disgusting squelch. As he took it out, his face scrunched, when he saw the dead brain matter on the butt of his rifle, as he brushed it off while retreating back.

Suddenly, there was the sound of church bells, as Richard whipped around, blowing the head of a zombie with a head-shot.

"Church bells...!? ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME!?" Richard exclaimed, before he then rushed to the door. "WHAT THE FUCK!? STOP THE DAMN BELLS! YOU'RE LITERALLY WAKING THE DEAD WITH THE DING-DONG SHIT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW! LET US IN NOW, OR SO HELP ME, I'LL FUCKING KICK THESE DOORS DOWN MYSELF!"

"We can't! The bells run automatically!" Paul shouted back.

"THEN FUCKING BREAK THEM! ANYTHING TO STOP HAVING THE DAWN OF THE FUCKING DEAD ONTO US-" Richard screamed, before he then heard the choking sounds of a screamer up close.

Startled by the sudden appearance of the screamer, he immediately kicked the screamer down with a forceful kick to the torso, before he walked over, and fired a few rounds into the screamer's head, as he growled in irritation, before getting back to dealing with the zombies.

Suddenly, one of the cathedral's upper floor windows was smashed open, as one of the men inside the cathedral was holding a sniper rifle, as he worked on taking out the zombies.

"I'll give you guys a hand! Let's waste these things!" The man shouted.

"Glad there was someone in there with a backbone." Leon grumbled, as he fired another shotgun round into the group of enemies.

"Paul! Open the door- now!" The other voice behind the door shouted forcefully.

"Alright, alright! Get your asses in here!" Paul exclaimed back, as there was the sound of something being removed from the door.

The four survivors immediately retreated to the door, still firing at the approaching zombies. "I'm putting a lot on the line trusting you! I hope this info of yours is worth it!" Leon shouted.

"It is. I stake my life on it." Helena swore, as she pushed the door open.

"Mira! Pop grenades!" Richard ordered Reisen, as the two of them immediately threw a few live grenades into the zombie groups, dazing with them and killing off the closest zombies to them. "Now! Inside!"

The four of them immediately got inside, as Helena moved to close the door, before a zombie managed to wedge itself between the doors, as Leon shoulder-tackled the door, crushing the zombie slightly with gurgling coming from it. Helena immediately moved for a pistol to shoot, although she was immediately out-sped by Reisen.

"Move!" Reisen shouted to Leon, who rolled to the side, as Reisen gave a powerful kick that whipped through the air, landing on the door with such force, that the doors were forced shut completely, crushing the entire body of the zombie with a bloody splatter, as the severed head rolled across the floor, leaving a trail of blood as it rolled.

The occupants of the cathedral immediately came out of hiding behind the wooden pews, as their leader, who was a man in his 30s, wearing a white suit and blue tie, holding a religious book in one hand.

"Are you...?" The man asked, before he then eyed the four survivors.

"Sorry, guys. We're not rescue workers." Leon apologised solemnly with a shake of his head.

The occupants immediately dispersed with varying reactions from disdain to disappointment to hopelessness, as Richard scoffed.

"So, Helena, what's the plan now?" Richard asked.

"There's a secret door by the altar that leads underground, but we need to find a way to open it." Helena replied back, pointing at the large lady statue in the front of the cathedral.

"You wanna tell me what's down there first?" Leon questioned Helena.

"Better if I show you." Helena responded back, as the four immediately moved up to it. "It was open the last time I was here. Shit, what do we do?"

Richard noticed that there was a bronze lady statue laying on one of the pedestals, as he picked it up, and turned to the others. "Hey, I think that this might be a key for this thing." He told them, before he then looked up, seeing that there was a ledge up to the upper floors of the cathedral. "And I think that you might want someone to get up there."

"Got it." Leon nodded, as he positioned himself under the ledge, as he motioned for Helena for a boost jump, as she complied, jumping onto Leon's hands, and getting onto the upper floors.

While Helena looked around, Reisen checked the lower floors as well, as she trudged into one of the storage rooms in the cathedral, finding another bronze lady statue, as she rushed back to the group. "Found another one."

"It's identical to the other one." Leon remarked, comparing the two statues in his hands. "Something tells me they're not just for show."

Helena then kicked the ladder down, as she waved to the others. "Come on." Helena stated, as Leon walked over, as he climbed up. As Richard and Reisen watched, the two of them looked around, before they found two altars opposite of each other in the cathedral.

"The two motherly saints will reveal the path..." Leon stated, reading the plaque on the one he was standing before, before looking at the statue in his hands, and placing it on the altar. Helena did the same, as the statue's base moved apart slightly, before shaking a little and moving back. However, Richard noticed that the door to the right opened.

"We're making progress at least." Reisen commented, as Leon and Helena came down, before the four of them immediately entered the room. They then saw that there was two levers, as they were separated by a fence, and a lifted gate. "It seems like that the moment we both pull our respective levers, we'll be separated from each other."

"Then we'll have to split up." Leon stated. "Kaz, mind helping me out?"

"Sure." Richard nodded, before looking at Reisen and Helena. "Don't any of you die. We might have to survive what's in store for us, before we can make real progress. I doubt that if either one of our pairs loses both members... The other's going to be trapped here forever."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." Helena responded back, as Leon and Helena pulled the levers, as the top of several bars on the fence spouted flames, as the metal gate lowered itself, cutting the pairs from each other. After a few moments, one of the slots in the room slid up, revealing a stone lady statue, with a wooden cross-bow loaded with flames on the tip of it, and on the base of it, is a large flat switch. "It seems that we have to press the switches on the statue."

Richard and Helena pressed the switches on the statues, as the flames on the crossbows were snuffed out, and the door in front of them slid open, taking them into another room, larger than the last, and with more slots for statues to come out from, arranged in a semi-circle formation for both sides, with a lever in front to initiate the 'trial'.

"Well... This is not going to be easy." Richard groaned, as he pulled the level down, just as Reisen did the same.

"It seems that we're liable to see what the statues are capable of... And I fear it won't be good for us." Reisen commented, as the fence's top burst into flames, and the mechanisms in the room whirred on.

As statues popped out, the group noticed that the crossbow-wielding arms of the statues moved in motion, aiming at them with a green laser marker on them, as the group raced to press the switches on the statues, to disable them before they shoot. However, with the frequency of the statues appearing, it was an inevitability that the statues managed to trigger their trap, as they fired steel arrows at the survivors, causing them to dodge from the projectiles.

After a few moments, the statues stopped coming out, and the doors to the next room opened.

"Jesus... Glad no-one got hurt by those arrows." Richard stated, before he then saw a statue of a lady holding a large empty hoop. "Looks like this is what we're dealing with in the next room. Leon, any ideas how to use this?"

Leon didn't respond, as he walked over, before aiming his hand-gun at it, activating the laser pointer on it, as it slowly lit up the inside of the hoop with orange light. When it was shining brightly, the doors opened in front of them. As they proceeded, they were met by several similar statues, as Leon and Helena shone their laser guides on each of them, to light the rings up, until they reached a room where both pairs reunited with each other, and there was a silver lady statue on a nearby pedestral.

"Another pair..." Reisen commented, as she collected the statue. "Leon, Helena. Do you believe that this will be the actual pair that will open the underground staircase?"

"Sure seems like it. The bronze ones opened the way here, so these ones should either open the way to another pair, or be the ones to open the staircase." Helena theorised. "We have to be quick."

They left the room, ascending flights of stairs, finding themselves in the balcony of the cathedral, with various towers, fitted with bells on top of them. One of said bells was even tied to a metal weather vane, which was moving due to the wind. And on one of the walls, was a large plaque with a message on it, besides a metal gate, that had a silver lady statue on a pedestal behind it.

"Toll the five bells loud and clear, and thus the true path will appear." Richard incited. "Huh... Looks like we're going to have to ring the bells with gunshots. Although... It's going to be hard to do even with our side-arms."

Reisen immediately checked the room itself, as she managed to find a black semi-auto sniper rifle, loaded with a optimised scope and stock. She immediately picked it up, before she then checked the loaded magazine, as the clip was filled, much to her surprise. She also managed to find some ammo for the sniper rifle, before leaving the room and taking position, breathing slowly and rhythmically.

She then immediately lined her sights with each bell, shooting them with astounding accuracy, as the bells rang one by one, before the survivors heard the sound of grating metal, causing them to head back into the room, where they found the metal gate that was blocking their access to the other silver lady statue was lifted, allowing them to collect the other of the silver statue pair. Richard immediately took it, just as the sound of another door lifting was heard.

"Did you hear that?" Leon asked.

"I hope it was a door. Come on." Helena responded back, as the four survivors went towards the source of the sound, as they found an open door leading them back into the main cathedral, on the top floor of the building, where their only way down was a uncovered ledge, with a series of chandeliers below them, and on the sides were two pedestals. Without delay, they placed the two lady statues on the pedestals, watching the base of the statue below open up, to reveal the staircase.

"Open sesame. Guess we got your way in." Richard smirked, before he then caught the glimpse of a shadow moving in the murky darkness of the underground staircase. "Huh...?"

The occupants of the church also noticed the opening of the staircase, as they turned around and approached it, with the leader of the church, the suited man, getting closer. When he was almost in front of it, he stopped, as a grotesque large zombie, who was covered with fleshy pores all over its entire body, and long arms that had clawed hands. As it came out into the light, it immediately writhed, letting out a guttural screech, before chattering its teeth.

"What is that thing...!?" Helena exclaimed with disgust.

"It's damn ugly... And dangerous by the looks of it." Richard growled, as the survivors immediately fled away from the abnormal zombie. The suited man backed away for a few steps, before pulling out a pistol, and shooting the zombie. However, doing so caused a blue visible gas to leak out of the shot's location, spraying onto the suited man's face, as he screamed in agony and ran back. He tripped on the stairs down, rolling over, before falling on his arms, hands clutching his face.

One of the female civilians immediately approached the afflicted man. "Are you OK?" She asked with concern.

However, there was no response from him, as he convulsed a few times, each more violently than the other, before he then raised himself, showing that the gas had infected him thoroughly, turning into a zombie. He immediately tackled the woman to the ground, before biting flesh from her neck, as she screamed in agony and horror.

"I'm guessing that's what unleashed this hell." Leon dead-panned.

"We need to help the civilians out, before more causalities are incurred." Reisen advised the others, as they immediately used the chandeliers as foot-steps, to help them descend to the ground safely.

"So game plan." Richard stated, as he whipped out his knife. "Pimples here spurts gas whenever he is shot. I'd say that the same would happen if you tried to puncture or cut through his pores, so hurting him generally is a no-no. But... On closer look, the bastard might go down with a head-shots, and I doubt it would spurt gas across the place. Plus... any of you two have incendiary grenades on you? I think that we can turn the gas against him, considering that organic materials like his zombie gas should light that bastard up like a Roman candle."

"I've got some." Leon responded back, before he pulled them out, before throwing them at the zombie. When they exploded, the zombie was lighted up in a instant, as it squealed wretchedly, rolling on the ground to extinguish itself. Richard immediately took the liberty of taking out the turned leader, as well as the bitten woman, who was about to spring up and attack him.

Reisen immediately focused her shots on the abnormal zombie, as she fired shot after shot with her sniper rifle, blowing the head apart, revealing a tentacle-like tongue inside the head, as she continued to fire at the head, killing the zombie before it could rack up any more causalities. As it died, its body let out a final burst of smoke, as the gas inside of it was burned up by the incendiary grenade thrown at it.

"Tch... Good thing we were right on the money with all of this." Richard sighed in relief, before he walked over to the corpse of the zombie, as he managed to find a key-card shimmering in the body of the zombie, as he pulled it out with little effort. Checking it closely, it looked like that it was the key to the underground facility.

The survivors immediately descended down the stairs to the underground, as they found a large door blocking their way, with a key-card reader. With the recently-obtained key-card, they managed to open the doors, and get through it, as they found steels doors that led them to the underground facility.

"All right, ready?" Leon asked Helena.

"Yeah." Helena nodded, as they pulled the steel doors open, and went down the hallway behind it.


	4. Leon Chapter 4

Unmei Force Infection

Leon Chapter 4: The Truth That Lies Underneath

* * *

_Inside the underground facility..._

The four survivors go through another set of doors, as they found themselves in a large room with several doors, and a large gate on one of the room. They all had a light above each and every one of them, and also a plate which had numbers on them in the form of a three digit number, except that some of the numbers on each door were blacked out or missing. The only one that had all three numbers on it was the large gate itself. And on the other end of the room, was a large terminal with a panel on it.

"Wish I believed God was looking out for us right now, but I think we're on our own." Leon remarked, as he immediately moved up to the terminal.

"You don't say, Agent Obvious." Richard sarcastically said. "I think God went on damn vacation, for all this crap to happen. Wonder how big G would react, whne he finds one of his sanctuaries tainted by the living dead, heh."

Leon inspected the panel, as it only consisted of the numbers 0, 1, 2. "Alright, any suggestions for what I should input?" Leon asked.

"Try 201, it should open the door on the front left." Helena suggested, as Leon inputted the number in, as the door's light turned green, and slid open. "Looks like it worked."

She went inside the room, before coming out with some ammo in her hands. "Right, this should come in handy."

"Open up the gate. We don't have time to play guessing games, or check every room here." Richard stated, as Leon opened the gate, which took them to a similar room, with the same lights, terminal with panel, and door, except with different numbers, and one even had no numbers in it.

"Call it intuition... But I believe that the door with no numbers could potentially be where the clues might be." Reisen responded back, before she thought for a moment. "Assuming the same code doesn't appear twice here... It narrows the possible codes down to a few. Try 021, and see what happens."

Leon pushed the code in, as the door opened before Reisen's eyes, much to her surprise. The survivors immediately entered the door, as it lead them to a small room, with a hanging lamp, and a chair near one of the corners. When Helena noticed the chair, she went over to it and crouched down to get a closer look at it.

"Wait... I remember this place! Deborah must be close to here!" Helena exclaimed, before she rushed out of the room through the other door.

"Who...?" Leon muttered, before the others followed after her, as she muttered something nervously under her breath while running through the hallway.

When they came to the end of the hallway, they found themselves in a large lab room, with computer servers, desktops, medicine cabinets, and a rusted operating table, covered by the white cloth of the curtain covering it, with something under it. Helena immediately turned frantic, as she rushed over and whipped the curtain off, revealing a mutated female zombie corpse, to which she sighed in relief.

"Thank god. It's not her. But where is she...?" Helena stated. "Come on, where are you...?"

"Alright, Helena, this better not become simply a rescue mission for someone personal." Richard bluntly stated. "We came here to find answers, not to reunite families. I've seen enough shit for today, and if you turn out to make the trail cold, kiss our support goodbye."

"Calm down. I'm sure that she'll have what we each need." Leon assured Richard, which pacified him considerably.

Helena whipped open the door to another room, only to find no-one to her distress, as Leon turned to her. "Who are we looking for?" He asked her.

Helena didn't reply still, as they made their way into another laboratory, as zombies rose from their operating tables, and one even dropped from a open vent. The survivors made quick work of them, before they could be of any threat.

"Alright, I'm getting kinda tired of you stringing us along. I don't know what you're trying to get us to do." Leon grumbled. "Are you gonna fill me in here, or what?"

"I will, it's just..." Helena responded back, before she paused for a moment with a grim expression. "Please, all of you. Bear with me a little longer. You'll have everything soon enough."

"As long as this ends satisfactory, I won't hold it against you to search excessively for the time being." Reisen assured her.

Richard then busted down a metal door, which took them into a biological storage room, where they saw large tubes containing various zombie mutants, some of which the survivors had the displeasure of encountering them, as they looked around to see if there was any threat in this room.

"What the hell is all of this?" Leon remarked.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling that some of the zombies we dealt with... may have gotten an edge from a certain **someone**." Richard answered, accentuating his last word with bitterness.

Reisen immediately checked around for anything to detail the happenings inside this room, or any general clues about the entire situation, before she found a old tape, with 'Happy Birthday Ada' written on it in black. She immediately looked around for a cassette player, before finding one linked to a large monitor, as she slotted the tape in, and turned to the others.

"I've found something. It's video footage, so you might need to come over and have a look." Reisen informed everyone, as they immediately flocked to the screen.

After some moments of static, accompanied with several random still images inside the video itself, before the screen showed the following details in white letters:

**C-VIRUS EXPERIMENT 12235**

**PROJECT ADA**

**Goal of Project Ada:**

**To create new life from a chrysalid state.**

**Date:**█████████

**Location: C-Virus Test Centre 14**

**Experiment Number: 12235**

**Subject: **█████████

**Result: Metamorphosis complete**

The picture then showed a still human-sized cocoon on the screen, as it slowly zoomed in on it. After a few moments, the cocoon moved, as something broke through its hard back, with crunching and grinding sounds, as a humanoid body emerged out of it, covered by a organic film, as it slowly leaned back, pulsating slowly and strongly. With a sudden motion, the film exploded with a squelch, spraying moss green fluids everywhere, as the humanoid figure was revealed to be a completely naked woman, with short dark-black hair. She leaned back, with her arms hanging limply for a moment, and then fell down the ground.

Everyone was shocked at the events transpiring before them, as Reisen didn't react much, and neither did Richard, as if both were accustomed to seeing such things before. However, Leon and Helena were slightly shocked, especially Leon, whose eyes were focused on the female figure that emerged out of the human cocoon.

The camera then zoomed in on her head, as she slowly raised it, just as the camera zoomed out to reveal someone walking in, with white sleeves, and a wristwatch on his left hand, before the tape immediately cut out.

Richard was completely still, as the screen turned back into static. Leon then turned to Helena.

"Is this what you wanted to show me?" He asked accusingly.

"No!" Helena strongly refused, shaking her head. "I thought-"

"...It's you..." Richard muttered under his breath, his eyes still focused on the screen. "I knew it..."

Leon and Helena turned their heads to Richard, as they were about to ask Richard what he was talking about, before he then let out a furious scream of hate, as he smashed the monitor with a powerful straight punch, breaking through the glass screen, before he then pulled out his assault rifle, and used the stock to smash every single part of the screen, letting out enraged screams with each attack.

"You FUCKING bastard!" Richard screamed, as he smashed the sides of the monitor with his gun repeatedly. "It wasn't enough for you to cause all this shit!? And now you try to play fucking god, you twisted son of a bitch!? I'll kill you... I'LL EVISCERATE YOU WITH MY BARE HANDS!"

"What the hell!? Calm down!" Leon tried to calm Richard down, as he approached him, and grabbed the assault rifle before he could swing again, causing himt to fall under the resentful glare of Richard, who was breathing heavily. "Who are you talking about..."

"I know that damn watch..." Richard scowled with hate oozing from his voice. "You say that Derek Simmons was where your handler was... Guess what, agent... He's the one person that I know for a fucking fact that is responsible for this bullshit. He's responsible for the deaths of many of my comrades, and their final moments of agonising torture that is 'experimenting.'"

"...How do you know-" Leon asked, before Richard wrenched the rifle from Leon's hands, as he whipped a finger at the mutated zombies in the tubes.

"Leon... Don't even TRY persuading me out of this. This here... is not even the worst that Simmons and his cronies done to my men." Richard fumed. "I know that you have nothing but my word against him... But I'm a mercenary. I could care less than a fuck for what happens to others, when I tear him to pieces. All I care about is having his head on a pike right now. Finding the source of the infection is secondary to clearing this little vendetta of mine. Understood, Leon? When I find Simmons, don't stop me from getting to him... Because if you do... Then I'll even traverse over your dead body to get to him."

Leon felt the hostility from Richard's tone, which slightly surprised him, considering that Richard was quite friendly for a mercenary during the last few hours, as he only nodded back, if only to calm Richard down. Much to his relief, Richard merely scoffed loudly, as he nodded.

"Good. Now then, let's find Helena's friend." Richard stated, as he walked out of the room.

Helena was slightly shocked about Richard's reaction, as she stood still for a moment, before she followed after Richard, with the other two survivors following after her in turn.

"So that woman, or whatever. You know her? I could tell by your reaction." Helena asked Leon about the woman in the video.

"Kind of, yeah..." Leon answered back, before they found themselves in another room, where they saw that the way forward was segmented apart, with the platforms forward being above them, and the ground below filled with water that was ankle-deep.

"Well... Any ideas?" Richard asked, before Leon went to a lever, which was next to a screen that had a digitised map, which seemed to detail the state of the room, as the platforms above were in red, as well as the gate in front of them.

He then pulled the lever down, as the gate turned green on the screen, as it lifted itself up.

"I get it. We have to activate them one by one." Leon remarked. "Perhaps then, the way to the next room would be shown, when all the platforms are lowered down."

"Why does everything have to be complicated..." Helena sighed.

The survivors immediately moved around, as they managed to find their way to one of the levers in the room, as it lowered one of the platforms. After doing so, they dropped down, as there were lines of cryogenic pods on both sides of them, as their feet were covered by water. They also found some zombies, which were easily taken care of.

After climbing back up through a ladder, they crossed the platform that they lowered, which allowed them access to another level, which they pulled down, causing one of the platforms to drop down. However, when they looked around for another lever, they found that it was out of reach from where they were, and the only way across was a catwalk above them.

"Looks like it's up to you again, Helena." Leon remarked, as he immediately helped Helena reach the catwalk, as she traversed it and reached the other side of the room. Richard and Reisen took care of the zombies that were approaching them, as Helena pulled down the remaining levers where she was, lowering the final platform, and completing the circuit.

Suddenly, there was a sound emanating from a nearby steel door, that had two levers. The lights on the levers turned red to green, indicating that they could be used to open the door.

"Looks like we've managed to complete the circuit here, allowing us to leave." Reisen stated, as Helena rushed over back to them, before they pulled the levers, which caused the platforms to sink down slightly behind them, and the door to open.

"Finally! Come on!" Helena exclaimed, as they made their way through the door, which led them to a alcove that was above the room with the numbered doors, and on the end of the path, was a large garbage chute that seemed to be big enough to fit into and traverse through. Richard, upon seeing it, adopted a unamused expression.

"...Seriously...?" Richard stated with a irritated tone. "We're riding a damn garbage chute down to whatever's down there...?"

"It's the only way down it seems." Helena responded back. "Besides, Deborah could possibly have went down further."

"If I find myself in waste disposal, especially filled with zombie corpses... I'll murder the architect of this damn place." Richard growled, before he shoved the chute open, as the survivors entered them one by one.

They soon found themselves in some sort of cave, with tunnels reinforced with wooden supports, as they slowly proceeded through the narrow tunnels.

"So many things have happened, and you still haven't filled me in with what you have. Why?" Leon asked. "Kaz has already made his relations with Simmons clear. So why can't you with what happened?"

"Because you probably wouldn't believe me. That's why I want to show you, because it's undeniable proof about the cruel events that occurred." Helena retorted. "And when I do... you'll have all the answers and proof that you need."

"So back at that lab... that tape... The one that got Kaz into a rage..." Leon remarked, before he was cut off by Richard, who placed a hand up.

"Let's not talk about that. I don't want old wounds being picked on again." Richard harshly cut off Leon.

"So... it's about who's in there..." Helena responded back, before she sighed. "Well... I guess answers are met with answers. That's fair."

They then continued on through the tunnels, encountering a few zombies, before they managed to reach a metal gate, that led them to a room, where a young woman that seemed to look like a sister to Helena, with the same hairstyle, and body shape, in only a short blue dress, lying on a table made by cut logs, unconscious. As Helena saw her, she immediately slammed her hands on the bars of the gate, with a horrified expression.

"Deborah!" Helena shouted, as she immediately kicked down the gate with all of her might, before the group descended down towards the woman. Helena immediately bent down, and placed both of her hands on the woman, as she shook her firmly a few times, on different places. "Deborah! Can you hear me!"

After a few shakes, there was a reaction, as Deborah's head moved towards Helena, her eyes opening slowly. "He... lena...?" She uttered slowly, as she raised a arm to grasp Helena's shoulder.

Helena let out a gasp, before she then lifted Deborah up with a arm underneath, hugging her closely with a joyful and relieved expression. "Thank goodness!" She muttered.

"So that's Deborah...?" Richard asked. "Well, now I see why you were looking for her so badly. You're a good sister, Helena."

"...Thanks." Helena responded back, before Deborah groaned, clutching her head with one hand, as Helena looked at her with a worried expression.

"OK. Enough with the mystery." Leon told Helena. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Let's just get her out of here first." Helena answered back, as she lifted Deborah on her feet, as her footing wasn't stable, evident from her shaking. "Then I'll tell you everything. I promise. This is the last thing I ask of you, the three of you."

"That would be best for her." Reisen agreed with a nod. "She looks like that she requires medical attention as soon as possible. As much as I am proficient with medical work... I doubt first aid would help her out even the slightest."

Helena then immediately lifted Deborah on her back, as she used her might to hold her sister firmly. "Hang in there, sis." She muttered.

"You take care of her. Leave the hostiles to the rest of us." Leon told her.

"Right... Deborah... Can you hear me? I'm gonna get you home, and then it'll be all OK." Helena told Leon, then Deborah, who was still groaning.

Richard immediately moved ahead of the others, as he stepped onto a bridge, finding a few zombies obstructing it. With a grunt, he immediately gunned down all but one of the zombies, leaving the lone undead to be condemned to a fate of falling into the dark abyss, when Richard flung him over the rope handles of the bridge.

As he moved forward, he was ambushed by a zombie that had a large machete in its hands. He dodged the sloppy swing from the zombie, before grappling the arm with the weapon, and ripping the arm off with a sharp twist of his body. The zombie groaned in agony, before Richard silenced it with a shot to the head.

"Please shut up." Richard spoke to the zombie, whose head now sported a bullet hole, as he picked up the machete, which was in fairly good condition. "You're being a pest. But still, cheers for the machete. It'll help me for the time being."

The survivors kept on moving, as they went down in a spiralling formation, due to the structure of the path, before they heard the sound of something crumbling, as Reisen managed to catch a glimpse of rocks falling from the roof of the cave, striking the bridge that the group crossed and breaking it apart.

"We have to hurry! The roof of this place is caving in!" Reisen warned them.

"How...!?" Richard exclaimed. "Did someone bomb the ground above!? Ah, screw it... All of you, pick up the pace!"

They immediately proceeded through another set of rooms, as Richard put the machete in his hand to good use, cutting the heads of the zombies clean off with furious swings, while Reisen took out the zombies coming from behind them. As they proceeded, Leon's phone crackled.

"Leon! Helena! Where are you?" Hunnigan called out. "I can't pinpoint your location at all! What the hell is go-"

The rest of her words were cut out with static, as Leon pulled it out to speak through it. "Hunnigan, come in!" He called out, only to hear a response in static. "Ah, damnit!"

Richard and Leon immediately noticed containers blocking their way, as the two of them cooperated with each other to heave the obstructions across quickly, allowing Helena and Reisen to keep moving. They soon managed to reach a large patch of stable ground, as Leon looked around for any ways forward. However, the efforts were interrupted when Deborah's relatively quiet groaning turned into cries. Helena immediately lowered Deborah on the ground, as she faced her sister.

"Deborah! Just hold on, we're almost there..." Helena tried to comfort Deborah, who was clutching her chest. "Just stay with me, alright? We're going to make it-"

Deborah suddenly then shrieked, as her entire body combusted into flames, causing Leon to grab Helena and move back, all while Helena tried to reach out to her sister. They watched as her hair and skin immediately melted away into clear sludge.

"Crap... What the hell is going on with her..!?" Richard exclaimed with shock, unsure on what to do.

"No, Deborah! NO!" Helena screamed in horror, watching her sister in suffering.

Deborah whimpered in pain and sorrow, as she raised a hand up, as the sludge solidified into a deep green colour, turning her into a human cocoon not unlike the one they saw in the tape.

Helena immediately wrested herself from Leon, as she knelt down in front of Deborah, with a despaired expression. "No... No, this can't be happening..." Helena said, as she tried to feel around the cocoon that was Deborah, as if she was looking for any signs of life within it.

Suddenly, there was a loud cracking sound, as the back of the cocoon cracked open, causing Helena to raise her head, and Leon, Richard and Reisen to immediately place their hands on their weapons, as if they were anticipating a threat to come out before them.

Like the video itself, a human-like object emerged from the crack in the cocoon, covered by organic film, as there was the sound of muffled groaning, as a darkened arm covered in the film as well, moved towards Helena, with palm outwards.

Helena looked at the hand offered at her, as she slowly raised her arm to try and touch the film-covered hand, as Richard could only watch, with his barrel pointed at whoever was coming out of the cocoon.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Richard muttered.

However, before the two hands could touch, the sound of a whistling crossbow bolt was heard, as the very projectile struck home on the head of the newborn being, causing it to fly back flailing, bursting through the film, and revealing itself as a near identical copy of Deborah, with both hair and face, although her skin was slightly pale and moss-coloured. When the mutated Deborah came to a rest, Helena gasped, as she rushed over to the downed Deborah with a horrified expression, as she knelt down over her, letting out a few choked sobs.

"I knew it... This was going to happen then..." Richard clicked his tongue, before he turned around, to face the shooter. "Oi, who are you? The hell did you shoot for? We had guns trained at the ready, so your cross-bow wasn't needed!"

Leon turned around, before he was shocked to come face-to-face with an old acquaintance of his. as a woman in a red jacket, long black gloves, thin black jeans, and black leather boots. She also had a cross pendant around her neck, and she had dark-brown hair, as well as having the look of an Asian-born person. In her hands was a large cross-bow, which was held with both of her hands.

"Ada...!?" Leon exclaimed.

"Oh, but you looked like you were hesitating there." Ada responded back, before turning to Leon. "You look like you've seen a ghost, Leon. That kid beside you supposed to be your partner in my place?"

"I'm not his partner." Richard responded back, as his finger eased the trigger. "And answer the question, why did you shoot?"

"It's complicated-" Ada was about to respond back, before Helena rushed to her, pointing her side-arm with a furious expression. "Oh."

Helena was sucking air through her grit teeth, as her eyes were locked onto Ada with hate in them. Ada merely stood there, her expression betraying no sign of fear. Before long, Richard lowered his weapon, as Leon did the same, lowering Helena's gun down as well. Helena looked at Leon, who shook his head gently, as she only lowered her head down as well.

"Ada, what the hell is going on here?" Leon asked. "And why were in that video?"

"What video...?" Ada asked, not understanding what Leon was talking about, before she shook her head. "Look, if you want some answers, I'll give them to you soon."

"Well, I'd like to see you explain how someone like you emerged from one of these cocoons-" Richard retorted back, before the roof rumbled above them, drawing their attention to it. "Well, you want to talk about this later?"

"I agree. This isn't the time or place." Ada agreed. "These walkways won't hold. We need to get to the lower levels!"

Helena immediately rushed over to the downed Deborah, holding her tightly. "I'm so sorry, Deborah. It's all my fault..." She muttered softly, as she hugged her sister closer to herself.

"What the hell are you trying to do-" Richard asked Helena with a outraged tone, before he saw that there were several long leg-like structures with clawed ends emerging from the mutated woman's back. "Helena! Deborah's...!"

"Stop! Don't shoot, please...!" Helena begged, raising a hand to stop the others from shooting her. However, she was then suddenly pushed to the ground by Deborah, who darted over her, and placed both of her human hands on Helena's throat, squeezing to choke her own sister in a fit of feral emotions.

"Helena!" Richard exclaimed, as he immediately noticed that the appendages had orange glowing flesh-bulbs on the other side of the clawed ends. "Shoot the orange bulbs! Perhaps by destroying her mutated appendages, it should daze her long enough for Helena to wrest free!"

Reisen immediately complied, as she lined up a shot with her rifle that struck the orange bulb of one of the swinging appendages, bursting it in a shower of orange fluid, as Deborah screamed in agony, allowing Helena to wriggle away from her feral sister. Ada immediately used the chance to fire another cross-bow bolt into another appendage's bulb, taking it out, and causing Deborah to thrash in pain and rage, as her one functioning appendage sliced through a nearby stone column, which toppled onto the ground.

As soon as the heavy stone slammed into the ground, it fractured underneath the feet of the survivors, causing them to fall down a few meters, down onto a large set of wooden scaffolding, as Leon found himself with Richard and Ada, while Helena and Reisen were on the other side.

"Deborah? Where are you?" Helena called out.

"Helena... It's best that we either leave her be... Unless you wish to put her down yourself..." Reisen advised Helena. "It's best that we work on surviving first. Your sister is the least of our concerns for now."

"...I understand, but..." Helena muttered back, before she stopped herself from saying more, as the two of them went along the path forward.

Leon, Richard and Ada did the same, as they descended several stories, before they found a large rope just out of their reach. Leon immediately gave Ada a b boost on the ledge, allowing her to catch onto the rope, and swing it back to Leon and Richard, as Leon took it first, reaching the other without problems, and then Richard, who leapt off it with Ada.

As Ada landed, she immediately threw a ruby-coloured ring at Leon, who caught it. "Here. You might need this more than me." Ada told him.

"A ring...?" Leon asked, before he shook his head, and pocketed the ring.

"Don't get the wrong idea. It'll make sense later." Ada responded back, as the three of them continued downwards, before their path forward was blocked by a container.

"Hey, Helena? Mira?" Richard called out. "You guys found anything to pull this damn thing up!?"

"Don't worry, we have it taken care of!" Reisen shouted back, as Helena pulled a lever near them, which caused the container to be lifted up, revealing another long strand of rope to swing with. Leon immediately prepared himself to boost Ada over, as Ada caught the rope tightly, before swinging over. However, Reisen managed to spot Deborah waiting on the edge of one of the platforms, as she struck when Leon was about to hop on, causing Ada and Leon to be jostled off, as Ada landed on the pathway above, while Leon fell down to the ground, rolling across it to mitigate the effects of his long fall.

"Watch out, all of you! She's strong!" Leon warned everyone.

"Watch out for yourself, Leon." Ada replied back. "You're not in a good position yourself."

Richard immediately took the rope that was still swinging across, as he landed down on the ground, while Helena and Reisen dropped down themselves, as they helped to take out Deborah's appendages, as she giggled maniacally while exposing them, with the bulbs on them regenerated back to normal. As they shot down her appendages once again, she cried once more, before falling down on the ground, clutching her head and wriggling in pain.

"Deborah!" Helena shouted, as she held Deborah, in a attempt to pacify her. However, Helena's touch only infuriated the mutated woman further, as she flung Helena off her. She then immediately got back up, before doing a complete sweep kick around her, and jumping back up onto the upper ledges, while zombies dropped from above, shambling towards the survivors.

"Just great..." Richard growled, as he used his machete to fight off one of the weapon-wielding zombies, parrying the clumsy strike with his machete and cutting the arm of the attacker with a single slice, before beheading it quickly. "Leon! Helena! Deal with Deborah! We'll keep the zombies off you all!"

"Just to save yourself some suffering, you should put her down, if you have any sympathy for her." Ada told Helena.

"This is a nightmare... This can't be real! Deborah..." Helena stated with disbelief, as Deborah jumped from her ledge with a roar, doing a spinning kick towards her, which the female survivor barely avoided.

Leon and Ada immediately aimed for the appendages of her back, when they exposed themselves. Deborah then immediately used her appendages to strike at the two of them with wild swings. However, they missed as both survivors dodged away from her attacks. After a few failed attempts at trying to even touch the survivors, she immediately screamed in rage, before smashing her appendages on the ground, breaking it apart, as the survivors fell through once again.

When they landed down again, Richard and Leon found themselves on a spiralling passage down deeper into the caves, while Helena, Reisen and Ada landed right nearby a large cart that was connected to a pulley system. The female trio immediately hopped into the cart, while Richard and Leon made their way down, dealing with the large number of zombies plaguing the path.

"Ada! Helena! Mira! A little help here?" Leon called out, while Richard focused on cutting through the zombies in his path.

"Heh, the more things change, the more they stay the same." Ada quipped, before she and both of the other survivors helped out, as the gunshots and piercing bolts cleared most of the zombies in front of the male survivors, allowing them to get through with minimal difficulty.

As they descended, the entire cave rumbled again, as debris, both rock and wood, rained down from above. Leon and Richard immediately picked up the pace, as they dropped down into what seemed to be the bottom of the passage, just as the cart reached the same place, as it stopped still. The occupants immediately worked on fending off zombies that tried to jump into the cart from above.

Richard and Leon hopped through a few gaps, in order to reach a large metal crank, that was linked to the cart where Ada, Helena and Reisen were in. Richard immediately cracked his knuckles, before using both hands to force the crank to turn, as with each revolution of it, the cart was moved across the entire crevice that was in between the two sides, before it came to a stop on some sort of mining cart track.

Afterwards, the pair immediately hopped onto the cart, just as there was the sound of metal grinding, and the cart picking up speed, moving along the tracks.

"All aboard!" Leon shouted, as he kept an eye forward for where the tracks would lead. "Let's hope this is a non-stop ride outta here."

"This sure reminds me of the roller-coasters I had when I was still a kid." Richard remarked, before he noted that there were wooden boards that were blocking the track, as everyone ducked down to avoid getting slammed into it, causing it to sail above the moving cart harmlessly.

As the cart moved along, they soon heard the sound of Deborah growling, turning to where she was, perched on one of the metal bars in the centre of the tunnel.

"Just stop it, Deborah! This isn't you!" Helena shouted.

However, Helena's pleas went to deaf ears, as her former sister, as Deborah immediately leapt down onto the track ahead. Richard immediately readied his assault rifle, before firing as many shots as he could at Deborah, before the cart slammed into her, causing the cart to be jostled hard enough to knock the survivors off their feet. When they got back up, they just entered the narrow tunnels through the caves, with no sign of Deborah in front of them.

"Is she..." Helena asked, before Deborah immediately jumped up from below the cart itself, landing on the edge of the cart, as she laughed once again, her appendages spreading out. "Ah!"

"Don't tell me you're still hesitating. She's actually trying to kill you." Ada scoffed at Helena.

"Don't you think that I know that?" Helena bitterly responded back, as she shot at one of the appendage bulbs, before she ducked down to avoid being slashed by a swinging appendage, as the others shot her without mercy, before her appendages were damaged again, causing her to retract them, before she then hopped off and disappeared under the cart.

She then immediately popped back up on the other side of the cart, re-deploying her appendages, as she then used her top appendage to strike down at Richard, who dodged it deftly, and then retaliated with a powerful swing of his machete, which cut open the bulb, spilling more orange blood from the broken bulb, eliciting screams of pains from Deborah, who immediately dropped back down to recover.

"There's debris ahead...!" Reisen warned everyone, as she pointed at a pile of rock blocking the tracks ahead, with a red barrel lodged inside of it. "Someone shoot the barrel... Quickly!"

Helena immediately rushed in front, as she shot the barrel with her gun, causing it to explode into flames, blowing the rocks out of their path. They continued along, before their cart moved in another direction, passing through many wooden boards, as Leon took the liberty of using his shotgun to blow apart some of them, so that everyone would be able to keep up to check what's in front of them.

After passing through the area, Deborah immediately crawled up back on top of the cart, readying herself for another attack. As the group dodged their attacks, Richard managed to catch a glimpse of the path ahead, as he paled, realising that the track have stopped here, and that they were flying right towards a wall.

"Oh shit... Everyone brace!" Richard shouted, as the cart immediately smashed into the wall, shaking everyone off their feet, before it flipped over, dropping Leon and Richard onto one of the wooden scaffolds, while Aya failed to stabilise her landing, slipping over the wooden ledge, before catching herself with a tightly gripped hand.

Helena and Reisen dropped on another scaffold together, as Helena was unable to get herself back onto her feet quickly, due to her impact causing the wooden boards underneath her to crater and cave in slightly. Reisen however, didn't manage to cause the same thing, allowing her to get on her feet.

Deborah then dropped down, before she then screamed, as her face split apart to reveal one final appendage, as it bobbed and weaved.

"Move, Helena!" Reisen shouted, as she immediately fired at Deborah's appendage, although her shots failed to deal significant damage to it, and she was immediately was impaled on her left shoulder trying to dodge, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Shit...! MIRA!" Richard exclaimed, before he then turned to Leon, who was trying to lift Ada back up. "You focus on getting her up! I'll help the others out!"

"Right!" Leon nodded, before he heaved and pulled to bring Aya up, while Richard fired at Deborah's appendage from above, shooting in rapid burst to strike the bulb on the appendage, that Reisen couldn't hit. Helena immediately fired at the appendage a few times, before the appendage immediately sprayed fresh red blood everywhere, with Deborah's agonised wail.

Deborah immediately retracted her appendage, freeing Reisen, who clutched her shoulder with a pained expression, with blood leaking from the punctured shoulder, as Helena watched as Deborah clutched her face, with blood leaking from it, staggering over blindly towards Helena, moaning in pain. Richard kept his gun at the ready, in case Deborah was going to take her sister with her over the ledge. However, much to everyone's surprise, Deborah immediately fell over the edge.

Helena immediately caught Deborah by the arm, although her grip was slipping from the slimy texture of her sister's skin. Leon and Ada immediately raised their weapons, while Richard dropped down to check on Reisen, who was still groaning in pain.

"Mira!" Richard shouted with concern in his voice. "Are you alright...!? Talk to me!"

"I'm fine..." Reisen grunted back, as Richard pulled her back onto her feet, while she was still clutching her injured shoulder. "Pass me some of the medicinal herb tablets..."

Richard immediately did so, as Reisen swallowed them, soothing her pain, and allowing her to use a bandage cloth to cover her wound. "Tch... I was careless..." Reisen remarked. "I shouldn't have tried to engage her this close."

"As long as you're fine... I'm already glad that you're not severely wounded." Richard sighed in relief.

"No more tears... Not until I avenge your death...!" Helena stated to Deborah with a determined tone.

Helena's hand slipped across Deborah's arm, before it moved onto Deborah's hand, as Deborah wailed in agony and flailed in the air, while Helena gasped with a shaky breath. Deborah then lifted her eyes up towards Helena, as she calmed down for a moment, looking like she regained her sentience.

"He... le... na..." Deborah whispered gently with a broken voice, causing Helena to grimace even more.

"Please... forgive me... Deborah..." Helena muttered, before she released her hand, letting her sister go.

Deborah immediately flailed like a helpless animal, screaming in terror as she fell into the darkness of the pit under them, her voice trailing off as she disappeared. Helena then raised her hands to the ledge, as she clenched her hands so tightly that the wood creaked under her grip.

"I'm going to make him pay for this... I swear it...!" Helena swore under her breath with a furious expression.

Leon and Ada dropped down, as Richard and Reisen approached Helena as well. Helena then got back onto her feet, before turning slowly to the others.

"Alright, now... what has happened here...?" Leon asked, with a grim tone.

"It was Simmons. It was him all along. Kaz was right, he did all this experimentation with the zombies, all for his twisted purpose." Helena explained. "Deborah was only one of the human subjects that he used. He wrenched her from me, and I was left alone with him... I didn't know what else to do. So I helped him. Just for the sake of keeping my sister from turning into one of those monsters... I helped Simmons breach the president's security, so that he could infect the President like this."

"That sounds like Simmons, all right." Ada scoffed. "He's a slimy bastard, but a clever one."

"Why the hell would he do this...?" Leon asked, with a betrayed tone.

"Don't bother, Leon. That fuck is demented, regardless of whatever shitty reason he has." Richard cussed with grit teeth. "The only way this ends is when his ambitions are torn down, and he's granted a fate deserving of his actions."

There was a faint ringing sound from the group, as Ada slowly pulled out a phone, which was ringing at the moment. "We're up against the people who really run this country, in a very dangerous game." Ada stated, before she then turned to leave. "And if you don't play your hand right...?"

Ada merely smirked, before she pulled out a grappling claw launcher, before she fired it and disappeared into above-ground. At the same time, Leon's phone rang, as he answered it.

"Leon, where are you?" Hunnigan asked.

"Is Simmons there...?" Leon questioned back.

"Yes..." Hunnigan responded back.

"Hunnigan, you need to be careful." Leon warned her. "I think he's the one who did all-"

"Did I hear my name being called?"

Simmons immediately appeared on the phone, as he was a weaselly man in a white suit, with a ring on his left hand. Helena immediately walked over, as she growled out his name in simmering anger.

"The president spoke highly of you, Agent Kennedy." Simmons said with a arrogant tone. "Tell me then, is it true that you were the only one present at the time of his death?"

Leon immediately tightened his grip on his phone, trying his best not to betray his emotions about the matter. "What are you saying?" Leon accused.

"Well, you must be aware that all of you present here are all suspects in this attack?" Simmons continued.

"What...!?" Helena spat out, barely restrained herself from bursting in rage.

"Agent Harper, at the time of the attack, you had abandoned your post, leaving the president vulnerable." Simmons reasoned. "You must admit that such behaviour is most suspicious."

"You son of a bitch! You're the one who planned all of this!" Helena fumed at Simmons, who merely smirked back deviously.

"With what evidence could you base such an outrageous accusation?" Simmons mocked. "I am the National Security Advisor. It's my job to prevent terrorist attacks, not cause them."

"You liar!" Helena screamed.

"Helena!" Leon scolded Helena.

"And working with mercenaries of all people. Tsk tsk." Simmons clicked his tongue. "Working with lawless hired guns like them is quite strong proof that you are responsible, considering that-"

Richard immediately rushed over, and snatched the phone, before turning it, so that Simmons is facing only him, as his expression was of cold rage.

"Moshi moshi, Mr Security Advisor." Richard spoke with oozing sarcasm. "To what I owe the pleasure of being dignified with a mention from you."

"Well well, I'm surprised that you would actually dare show yourself." Simmons chuckled. "You must be either foolish or brave to do such a thing."

"Oh, cut the fucking honey-talk. You and I... are NOT FUCKING done." Richard's tone turned icy cold, his glare turning into a scalding one. "You think that you're untouchable from that high horse of yours, and that you would be able to walk away and wash your hands of everything you have done. I still have you to owe for the destruction of my little squad, Derek Simmons."

"How strange, I don't recall ever doing such a thing." Simmons responded back. "Why would I dirty my hands to deal with moral-less garbage like you?"

"Hahaha... Ahahahahaha...!" Richard laughed out loud in mocking laughter. "Oh, how funny. The blackest pot calling the kettle black. Of course a nameless company like ours would be below your notice, oh prestigious National Advisor... Let me tell you one thing."

Richard then gripped the phone tightly, as it strained under his vice-like grip. "You can send all the lap-dogs and experiments to hunt me down, and I will still be there, standing atop your 'sacrifices'. It doesn't matter where you flee, or what you try. I will make you pay the price in blood for the loss of my comrades. So go ahead, prepare your men, or wash your neck for your eventual execution, nothing will deter me, for you will know the second law of the wilderness: Blood is repaid... in BLOOD!"

Richard then slammed the 'end call' button, before throwing the phone to Leon. "Well, looks like we're working together, like it or not." Richard told Leon with a dry tone. "Don't worry, after what just happened, I don't think that we'll ever have problems with each other anymore."

"I'm going to make him pay for turning on his promise..." Helena seethed.

"Looks like things just went from bad to worse." Leon sighed.


	5. Leon Chapter 5

Unmei Force Infection

Leon Chapter 5: Ascending back to the World

* * *

_Inside the very catacombs under the Tall Oaks Cathedral..._

The group immediately made their way through the dark and silent caves underneath the ground, as they opened a large steel door, which took them to another area within the catacombs.

"Kaz is right. All of us are in the same boat now. I'd say that officially makes us a team." Leon remarked.

"Fine by me. As long as you help me get to Simmons." Helena nodded, before she looked around the entire place, as it was quite ancient. "Does this all belong to Simmons?"

"Well, damn right it does. Especially when he made this place a ground-zero site with a bio-lab on top of that." Richard answered back with a unamused tone.

"So... This Ada... Are we able to trust her...? She does know what's going on." Reisen asked Leon.

"That's... not a easy question to answer." Leon answered back with a brief pause.

"Little history there, hm...?" Helena stated, before the group made their way to a corridor, which had spinning blades on the walls, forcing to crawl.

"Oh, that's charming. Should have said a prayer or two while we're still up in the cathedral." Leon commented dryly.

"Let's not bother. Some gods specialise in trolling and tricking their believers in malevolent ways." Richard responded back, as he noticed zombies rushing over to them, as he used his side-arm to shoot while on his belly.

The group passed through the blades, before they got up and continued through the hallways, before they were met by a stream of fire aimed towards them, blocking their path.

"Looks like there's no way forward, unless either one of you are fire-proof." Richard said, before he noticed a ledge. "Hey, Leon... Think you can send either Mira or Helena up there?"

"I'll go." Reisen nodded, as Leon vaulted her up onto the ledge, as she saw that there was another corridor on the other side of the wall. She then dropped down, before she took out some of the zombies loitering inside of it, before she managed to find a crank that was connected to the flame trap that was blocking the way ahead.

She twisted it a few times, causing the trap to shut off, and allowing the others to get across. They then gathered right in front of a large door, which had a round emblem with arrows on the left and right of the circle, and a emblem of serpents inside of it, with a hole in the centre, where something could be inserted.

"The writing on the door... 'Set forth evidence of kith and kin'..." Richard read out the writing on the door. "So it needs something that is related to Simmons... But what would be his, that would fit in that hole... unless..."

"That's right...! The ring, that Ada gave me." Leon responded back, as he pulled it out, and stuck it in the centre hole of the door. As he did, the door creaked slightly, as the emblem began to turn slowly. "Bingo! Thanks for the gift, Ada."

"I would be asking when she gave you that ring... But if it helped us, then there's nothing to worry about it then." Helena responded back, before she then heard the growling and groaning of zombies incoming. "We got zombies incoming!"

"Someone man the flame trap! It should clear out the zombies on one side!" Richard shouted. "Leon, Helena... Take care of the other side, please!"

"Understood." Leon nodded, as he and Helena moved to the other corridor, before taking out any zombies walking down it.

Reisen immediately went to the trap's crank, as she continuously twisted it around, causing fire to billow forth again and again, burning the zombies on the other path to a crisp, while Richard used his machete to finish off any zombies that survived the fire.

As the four of them defended their location, while the emblem turned, the door clicked once again, as the emblem's arrows were vertical instead of horizontal, and the last of the zombies were killed off.

"That's the last of them..." Richard remarked, before then moving to the door. "Now then, let's move before more come."

Leon and Richard push open the large door, as they found themselves in a room with plenty of water, supplied by a large waterfall in the middle of the large room. As they proceeded into it, they caught a glimpse of a mutated fish-like monster swimming through the water, with grotesque scales and fins.

"Careful, we're not alone." Leon warned everyone.

"You don't say, agent." Richard scowled, as they moved deeper into the water. "Damn... This water is cold... I guess that's only because this is natural water from the earth itself..."

They then passed through the flooded rooms, as they found themselves in front of a gate that had a ruby gem in front of it, as well as another alcove above, reachable with a boost.

"I'll take care of this one." Helena responded back, before Leon boosted her up, as she immediately made her way around the gate, dropping down on the other side, and moving the crank for the gate, as it opened up slowly. Before the group could pass through, a zombie grabbed her from underwater, before dragging her under the surface.

"Shit! Helena!" Richard exclaimed, before he then rushed towards Helena, raising his machete to take out the zombie dragging Helena. However, he managed to see through the murky surface that both the zombie and Helena were dragged through the side. Richard, Leon and Reisen immediately ascended the stairs, before they managed to see Helena resurface, gasping for air, inside a obstructed passage.

"Helena! Are you OK?" Leon called out to her.

"I'm fine, but I'm way over there now." Helena responded back.

"We'll cover you as much as we can. Just keep moving forward!" Leon told her, as Richard and Reisen immediately focused their aims on the zombies down below, as Reisen sniped out the closest zombies to her. Helena immediately used that as a signal to proceed, as she evaded the zombies that weren't killed yet, before she reached another crank, as she winded it, opening a gate on their side. However, she was blocked by a gate of her own.

"I can't get through here. Can any of you open it from your side?" Helena asked.

"Standby for a moment, protect yourself until then." Richard responded back, before he made his way across the path, and found another crank, which he turned, hoping it was the one that was connected to the gate in Helena's way. Reisen managed to see that the gate in front of Helena was opening slowly, before Helena walked through it.

"There, did it work?" Richard asked.

"It did. Helena's through now." Reisen confirmed for Richard.

The trio then made their way through, sliding and crawling another set of spinning blades, before they found a set of spears that were rapidly shooting in and out of both the floor and ceiling.

"No way we're getting through that." Leon remarked, before Helena immediately made her way to another crank, as she twisted it, causing the spear trap to stop. "Well, at least not without your help. Thanks, Helena."

"You're welcome." Helena responded back. "Any way to open the gate in front of me?"

Reisen immediately made her way to the crank for the gate, only to find that the crank itself was missing the handle to turn it. "Hate to disappoint you, Helena. But the handle's not there. We need to find it first."

"Look for it? There's no guarantee that it's even in here!" Helena exclaimed frantically.

"But we have no choice in the matter. If we can't find that handle, we're trapped." Richard responded back. "Just hold on there for a moment."

The group on the other side then saw that there were zombies dropping from above, as some of them landed in the spinning blades, and were diced apart. The others were behind it, as they slowly limped towards the survivors, without any sense of danger caused by the trap. Richard took the ones that dropped after the trap, as Leon noticed that something metal dropped through the blades, and onto the ground.

"Looks like something dropped in there..." Leon stated, before he then crawled underneath, pushing aside the zombie pieces, and collecting a relatively old and rusted crank handle. "Looks like we're in luck. It's the handle we needed."

Leon then crawled back, before running to the crank, jamming the handle in properly, and turning it to open the gate on Helena's side. Helena then immediately made her way around, as she moved to the crank on the other side of the gate that was blocking the group's path, while Reisen and Leon shot the zombies that tried to latch onto her, while she turned the crank to open the gate.

"Welcome back, strangers." Helena quipped.

"Looks like we're finally making it out of here." Leon responded back.

"I wonder if there is a way to find Simmons. His dogs are going to be over us soon enough, thanks to his scheme..." Richard growled.

They then made their way to another door, with a lever on both sides. Leon and Helena pulled the lever, expecting the door to open. However, much to everyone's surprise, the ground tipped underneath them, dropping them down onto stony ground, as they found themselves staring at a worn-down giant stone statue.

"Welcome to the centre of the Earth." Leon remarked, as they all looked around.

"Very funny. Let's just keep searching for a way out. I'm sick of the caves already." Richard complained.

The four of them immediately continued through the path carefully, trying not to fall down the narrow pathway ahead of them, before they reached a crank linked to a wooden bridge across.

"I promise you, we're not going to let Simmons get away with this." Leon responded back. "Who knows what he would unleash if he was left unchecked...? I've seen that outcome several times already."

"Good. I won't rest until he's paid for what he done to my sister." Helena nodded in agreement.

As Richard turned the crank, several zombies dropped them, gurgling as they rushed them.

"Just couldn't let us go, huh...?" Leon grumbled, as he shot the oil lamp held by one of the zombies, as it exploded, covering several of the zombies in flames, as they turned frantic, and rushed in random directions, some even falling off the edges of the path. As they rushed down a narrow stone bridge, the ground broke under Leon, causing him to fall.

"Oh shit!" Leon swore, before Richard turned around and caught him by the hands, as he lifted him back up quickly. "Thanks for the assist, pal."

"You're welcome. I'd expect you would do the same for me in a vice-versa situation." Richard humbly responded back.

They then hopped over to another bridge, before they caught the sight of a giant bloated zombie on the other end, which tried to rush at them while carrying its own weight.

"Hey, lard-ass! I wonder how many times over you broke the weight limits for this bridge!" Richard shouted, as he immediately fired his assault rifle at the bloated zombie, while Reisen and Leon supported him by firing both shotgun and sniper rifle at it.

As the zombie charged at them with its chubby arms out, the group dodged to the side, before rushing over to the other side of the bridge, shooting down any zombies nearby them, before re-focusing their attention on the zombie before them, as it fell down dead right on the bridge, which creaked under the weight of the heavy corpse, but still held strong.

Richard then moved forward, as he checked the way forward, as there was a bridge on the other side of a gap, which could be lowered, and a rocky platform that seemed to connected to a path around to reach the other side. However, it was far enough for only a boost jump to allow.

"Leon! Some help over here." Richard called out, as he pointed at the rock platform. "We'll need to get someone to jump over there and go around to get the bridge down."

"I'll handle this." Reisen responded back, as she positioned herself for Leon, before then jumping onto the platform with Leon's help. However, just as she landed, the platform tipped forward, as Reisen quickly attempted to regain balance, before she then jumped across to the stable path, just before the platform fell onto the edge of the path. "Whew... Close call... Leon, Kaz, Helena... Cover me please..."

"Don't worry. We've got you covered, Mira." Richard assured Reisen, as she began to move, with Richard and Leon taking out the zombies with their weapons, allowing Reisen to continue across, before she was assaulted by a bloated zombie, which she immediately fled from, making her way up the wooden slopes, before taking out the zombies in her way to the bridge, as she began lowering it.

"Pretty elaborate bridge system here. Someone really thought this place through." Helena commented.

"Right. Which means that there's got to be a way out." Leon deduced.

The bridge then finished lowering, just as the fat zombie climbed up to where Reisen was, and tried to charge at her. However, it was staggered when Richard threw a grenade under its path, and then incinerated when Leon threw a incendiary grenade right at it, causing it to be consumed in flames, as it roared in panic, rushing over the ledge of a cliff and screaming on its way down.

"Let's hope that we don't have to deal with any more of THOSE zombies." Richard sighed, before he then worked on pushing the boulder in their path down, before Reisen helped him out. "Leon? Helena? Keep with us. I think that we're close to the exit here."

The boulder then fell down, revealing a path down below, as the survivors hopped down onto it, and traversing it, until they reached a large uplifted bridge, with two cranks. Richard and Reisen immediately worked on the cranks, as they twisted them, lowering the bridge slightly. However, while they were doing that, many zombies dropped from the ceiling aiming for the survivors.

"Cover us!" Richard shouted, as he stopped using the crank on his side for a moment, to use his side-arm to shoot a few zombies in the head, before returning to his process of lowering the bridge.

Helena and Leon kept on repelling the zombies, as they managed to do well in making sure their allies are unharmed by the zombies. However, when they shot a lamp-wielding zombie, the unstable lamp exploded, jostling the rock underneath, and causing the piece of rock the survivors were standing on to fall. It then tilted, causing them to slide onto another path, while the large piece of rock fell into the pits below.

"I don't think this place is stable anymore!" Richard exclaimed. "RUN!"

The four survivors sprinted across the entire length of the pathway, shoving or kicking any zombies out of their path, before they managed to reach a part of the catacombs, where there was actual ground. However, just when they managed to catch their breath, they heard the sound of water sloshing above them with a rumbling sound accompanying it.

"Is that... rushing water...?" Helena asked, before water flowed down towards them, creating a strong torrent of water that swept them off their feet, and deeper into the catacombs, while they all struggled against it to keep their balance. They passed through several familiar areas, as they tried to use their arms to shield themselves from the branches and plants in their way.

"Oh god! What do we do!?" She exclaimed.

"Hell if I know!" Leon shouted back, through the sound of the water rushing beneath them.

"We might be going the right way, we might not! May as well risk it, right!?" Richard yelled as well.

They then flew out of a opening, before they splashed into the water below, with flooded rooms. The survivors held their breath tightly, as they swam their way quickly through the damaged ruins. As they proceeded, they were suddenly shocked by the appearance of the same mutated fish monster from before, causing them to back away, and almost open their mouths in shock. It burst through one of the walls, before going through the other, causing debris to rain down, blocking the path forward.

Reisen gestured for the hole that the monster made, as the survivors entered it, finding themselves in a narrow passage, with sea grass everywhere. As Richard swam ahead of the others, he was surprised when a zombie grabbed him from within the green plants on the ground, holding him tightly. He struggled strongly, before freeing his right arm, and using the machete on him to kill the zombie with a cut to the head.

They then managed to find a small air pocket for them to breathe in, as they ascended above the surface, and took greedy gasps of air for a few moments together. After that, they dived back into the water, continuing their way underwater. When they managed to find a water grate in front of them, they frantically pulled it down together, before rising back into another air pocket, although they could see that there was dry ground ahead of them, through a small peep-hole between the rocks.

"Not my lucky day..." Leon told everyone.

"This is enough craziness for an entire year at the least." Richard huffed. "You all okay...?"

"I'm fine-" Helena was about to respond, before she let out a sharp cry, before she was dragged under the water.

"Helena! No!" Leon shouted in horror, as he dived into the air, followed by Richard and Reisen.

While Helena was being grabbed by the leg in the mouth of the fish-like monster in the waters, Leon, Richard and Reisen were clinging along its back. Helena tried to wrest herself free, only for the monster to open its mouth for a moment, then clamp it down harder, pinning Helena's leg even tighter, although none of its needle-like teeth managed to pierce through her limb.

Leon and Richard made their way across the fish, by using its spiked back-side as handles, before Leon reached for one of the harpoons, which was lodged on the monster's back. And while the others made their way to its head, Helena managed to grab another one of the harpoons stuck between its teeth, pulling it out, and then thrusting it onto one of the monster's red eyes, causing it to scream in utter pain, opening its mouth large enough for Helena to get herself free, as she fell underneath the underside of the monster.

Richard immediately clambered across the writhing monster, before he positioned himself just above the monster's other eye. When he got his grip on the monster stable, he used his other hand to grab his machete, and jam it blade-point into the eye, stabbing it repeatedly, as the monster's blood tainted the water around them.

Leon then swung himself forward, reaching in front of the monster, as he used his legs to temporarily force the monster's mouth open, and pulling out the harpoon from the monster's other eye, as he looked into its mouth, finding that inside of it was a large orange centipede-like monster with carapace and sharp legs, in place of its tongue. He then jammed the harpoon right through it's 'tongue' causing it to squeal in agony.

They then flew out of the side of a waterfall, as Helena and Reisen fell onto the platforms above the water, while Richard and Leon dived down into the water, while the monster splashed into the water, although it didn't ascend back up for the time being.

"Careful! That thing's still around here!" Helena warned both of the men in the water.

"We're well aware. Leon, let's get moving, before Jaws does his encore of his performance... And it won't be as easy as last time." Richard responded back.

The two of them swam across the waters, before they reached a gate, while Reisen and Helena traversed the path above, before they were all in sight of a gate that was blocking the ones in the water from proceeding forward.

"Helena, Mira, could you do something about these bars?" Leon asked.

"I can try. Hold on." Helena responded back, as she found that there was a familiar ring above the gate itself. "Perhaps..."

She then aimed her gun at the ring with laser-sight on, the insides flaring up with a blue flame, as the gate slowly lifted itself up. Leon and Richard swam through it, before the gate closed behind them. As soon as it did, the monster from before rose up into the water, with mouth open, and its creature-like tongue swinging and slashing through the air.

"Leon, Kaz! Get out of here!" Helena cried. "It's coming!"

"Shit!" Leon shouted, as the two of them immediately started swimming faster to out-speed the monster chasing them. Reisen also helped out, using her sniper rifle to shoot the wriggling tongue of the monster to slow it down. They eventually managed to reach a ladder, which they used to climb out of the water, with both male survivors panting and huffing.

"Crap... And they say that knowing how to swim fast is not important..." Richard huffed.

"Come on." Reisen simply said, as they immediately went for the grate that was near them, as they expected that it would lead them out.

Suddenly, the monster jumped out of the water, as it slammed them through the grate and the surrounding rock, knocking them onto a slope of stone and water, as they managed to right themselves, and turn around to face the monster, with their weapons up.

"Time to fry this fucking fish once and for all!" Richard shouted, as he pulled out several grenades, throwing them in rapid succession at the monster's mouth, blowing and tearing its insides significantly, before he resorted to firing his assault rifle to take down the monster.

The other survivors fired at the monster with ferocity, as the monster was forced to back off again and again, unable to withstand their assault. As they passed through, they saw that several barrels of dynamite were knocked into the stream due to the monster's ramming. When Richard managed to turn his head to see another pile coming ahead, he turned to the others.

"We got another pile of dynamite ahead of us! We should use it to finish that damn thing off once and for all!" Richard shouted.

"Aim for the dynamite when its near the mouth!" Leon ordered, as the pile was dislodged, and the barrels flied into the stream, bouncing across towards the monster.

As if in synchronisation, the four survivors each locked onto a barrel of dynamite, before firing at the same time, causing a series of simultaneous explosions that blew the entire head of the monster into fleshy pieces, causing its dead body to sag behind.

"All right! Take that!" Richard cheered with a raised arm, before the sound of a waterfall could be heard behind him, as his cheer was replaced by horror. "Oh shit-"

They then immediately fell over a waterfall, as the survivors crossed their arms and shifted their bodies straight downwards, as they plunged into the deep water, before then swimming back up to the surface. They all swam across, finding a piece of debris to cling onto. They then looked up, when they heard the sharp sound of jets flying over, as fighters began to soar over their heads, before they bombed the cathedral ahead of them, and the surrounding area as well.

"Oh, that explains that rumbling... Simmons cutting off his loose ends. Bastard..." Richard said with a irritated expression. "And to kill us with a cave-in as well... Looks like we royally pissed him off."

Helena watched as the mushroom cloud of the powerful bomb float into the air and spread out, before they swam towards the nearest shore, before they shook themselves dry of as much water as they could.

"He's sterilising the area..." Helena spoke with disbelief. "How could he...?"

"Simmons is doing this to wipe off any traces of his immoral actions." Reisen explained. "After all, he made sure that there is nothing we can use to accuse him back. And now that everyone's been wiped out... He has left us with his word as the only and sole proof needed to convict us."

"Oh, trust me... That fucker would have done worse... If I could bet on it... He'd be planning on releasing this shit on something more than a local town-" Richard shouted, before Leon's phone rang, as the agent picked it up.

"Thank God you're still both alive." Hunnigan spoke to them with relief.

"Where's Simmons?" Leon asked.

"After speaking with you, he left... In a hurry." Hunnigan answered back.

"Shit!" Leon cursed.

"Where did he go?" Helena asked, moving to speak with Hunnigan.

"As he was leaving, he was talking to someone on the phone." Hunnigan responded back, as she typed on her keyboard. "He doesn't sound too happy with what just happened."

"Alright... Any idea where he went? I swear, that bastard cannot escape into obscurity, no matter what!" Richard shouted.

"Don't worry. I've got a tail on him." Hunnigan assured Richard. "He's on his way to the airport now, where his private jet is preparing to leave for China."

"China...?" Leon asked, as Richard's expression turned horrified.

"Yes. Take a look at these." Hunnigan responded back, as the screen showed a report of zombies being in the country at the very moment, with the city burning and smoking from public chaos.

"What happened...?" Helena asked with a shocked tone.

"Another bio-terrorism attack." Hunnigan answered back. "The BSAA confirmed it was the same one used in Eastern Europe six month ago, called the 'C-Virus'."

"C-Virus..." Leon remarked, before Richard shoved him aside, to see the report on the attack on China.

"No... Oh god no..." Richard muttered with horror. "Shit shit shit shit...!"

Leon immediately closed the phone off, as he turned on his ear-piece to speak with Hunnigan. "We need to stop Simmons and take him into custody right away." He stated.

"I'm afraid that won't be possible. We have no evidence against Simmons right now, and on top of that, you two are top suspects for their list on the president's assassination." Hunnigan answered back. "I doubt that you would be able to find a plane quickly enough, through both official and illegal means in time."

"No..." Helena responded back, before Richard roared, and slammed his fist on the tree.

"FUCK!" Richard swore, before he punched the tree again. "That cunt did this so that we can't get after him...!"

Leon paused for a moment, before he then looked at the blaze that was the Tall Oaks community, as he spoke again. "Then listen, Hunnigan. I need you to fake our deaths for the moment." Leon stated. "Can you do that?"

"Of course, but they'll figure out eventually. Although... with this, you might be able to find a way to get to China before they do." Hunnigan answered back.

"Got it." Leon stated, before he closed the communications and looked at Richard. "I guess that the trail is going to China... I'd ask that you leave, but you look like that you're not going to."

"If going with you gets me a shot at Simmons, I'm coming. Simmons got away with the death of my squad. He's not getting away with the ruin of my home country as well!" Richard roared, before he then calmed down. "So please. Allow me to come with you at the very least."

"Alright then. No objections here." Leon nodded.

"Good... Let's get out of here. Simmons's men might be still looking for us among the area." Richard answered back, before they moved into the forest ahead of them.


	6. Jake Chapter 1

Unmei Force: Infection

Jake Chapter 1: Umbrella Facility Escape

* * *

_Inside the Neo-Umbrella Facility at China..._

Sherry Birkin, daughter of the deceased William Birkin, creator of the G-Virus, opened her eyes, as she was laying on a medical bed, as the sounds of only medical monitors beeping nearby her, as she sat up. She looked around, as she found that her surroundings consisted of another medical bed, that was surrounded by white curtain, obscuring her view of what was on top of it. When she looked around, she found the beeping medical monitor to her side, with medical statistics, like heartbeat and oxygen levels, as well as a open cabinet and a rack beside it. When she got off the bed, she immediately moved over to the only window in the room, as it was completely dark outside, allowing her to see herself in the reflection of the glass.

She checked herself, as she was clad in only a white hospital patient jacket, as there was no sign of any surgery done on her body yet. As she looked into her own brown eyes, and gave her own face a once-over for any other abnormalities, with her short tidy blonde hair covering most of her head, she noticed that a hand moved onto the curtain on the other bed, as it slowly pulled the curtains apart.

Sherry was alarmed by what she saw, as she spun over and rushed over to the hand, and immediately grabbed it, before throwing it over herself, and pinning the arm to the ground. When she finally managed to get a clear look on who the person was, she was shocked by who it was, as it was Gus, who was dressed in a white patient robe.

"Ow, ow..." Gus grumbled, as he groaned in pain of being thrown over by Sherry. "I knew that I shouldn't have tried to move the curtain aside..."

"Who... Who are you...!?" Sherry demanded.

"I'm... I don't know how to tell you this..." Gus responded back. "But I hope that when I tell you that I'm just a victim here, you'd believe me. Please, I just woke up. If you're planning to escape... Take me along with you."

Sherry looked at Gus for a few moments, expecting to see signs of deceit on his face. However, she is relieved when she could tell that Gus's words were genuine, especially when there was some confusion on his face. She immediately let go of Gus's arm, as he flipped around.

"Thank you... I'm glad that you can trust me on this." Gus answered back.

"Not the first time I've done that before." Sherry sighed. "Both in a long time and just recently."

"I see." Gus nodded, before he then went towards the door, as he jostled it, and then looking at the card reader on the other side. "Looks like we're stuck here for the time being."

"Speaking of which... Why are you in this room...? I just woke up from another round of experimenting from the personnel here. What about you?" Sherry asked, curious about how Gus was in the room.

"I'm... not sure." Gus answered back with a brief pause, before the lights in the room turned off, startling both of them.

They then heard a click, as the card reader turned green, causing Sherry to run to the door. However, Gus then saw that the door in the other room, opened, as a figure wearing a colourful Beijing opera mask, and holding a charged stun baton, came in.

"Hey... Hide...!" Gus harshly whisper, catching Sherry's attention, who immediately gasped and rushed towards the bed, while Gus did the same, before closing the curtains around his bed, while the man came towards the door to their room, and pushed it open, before coming in, looking around frantically for the both of them.

The strange man then rushed around the room, pausing at several spots for a few moments, letting out a feral growl each time he stopped. As he stopped right in front of Gus's curtain, the latter shoved aside the curtain and tackled the man, causing him to let out a cry, before he then whipped around to strike Gus with the baton. Gus caught his hand before he could bring it down, as he twisted his arm to disarm the man, dropping the baton on the ground. He then pushed the man towards one of the tables, before he then smashed the man's head against the side of the table with brutal force, shattering the mask, and knocking the man out.

When Gus got a closer look on the unmasked face of the attacker, he was disgusted, when he found out it was a grotesque human face, which was gouged at several places, with milky white eyes on several places on the head.

"Ugh... What the hell is this...!?" Gus gagged in disgust, as Sherry picked up the stun baton, before taking the crystalline key-card from the unconscious being.

"That's J'avo." Sherry explained. "They're pretty much the next evolution of zombies in a sense. They can transform into much worse and grotesque shapes than these, if they're injured. Not to mention that they're smart enough to fight and use weapons like a proper human being."

"Damn... I hope that not every zombie would be like them... Zombies with intelligence... Even mere swarms of them are enough to raze the world..." Gus spoke with horror in his voice. "Come on, let's get moving."

"Alright, but I'm not going to attempt fighting, until I can get a proper gun." Sherry responded back.

"That's fine. Just get me a weapon, any one, and I'll cover you if we run into unavoidable trouble." Gus agreed, as they exited the room, before pushing the door to reach a large lit hallway, as they did, the alarms rang above them, as the intercom blared.

"Several test subjects have escaped from their quarters. They must not leave the facility. Permission to use firearms has been granted." The intercom boomed with a Asian male voice. "I repeat, several test subjects have escaped from their quarters. They must not leave the facility. Permission to use firearms has been granted."

"Several... Then that means..." Gus stated.

"Jake. He's still alive." Sherry stated, before he dragged Gus along. "Come on."

They stuck their backs onto a wall, when they heard the footsteps of a nearby J'avo approaching them. Sherry immediately used the moment to charge her stun baton to maximum effect, before she struck the mutated zombie with it hard, causing it to spasm and let out a long cry, before it fell down to the ground, with smoke emanating from its fried body, as it immediately burned away into dust with a sizzling sound, surprising Gus.

"It happens. These ones die by burning into nothing." Sherry explained, as Gus took the submachine gun that the J'avo dropped, just in time to shoot a rushing J'avo, who was wielding a Chinese saber in his hand, as he shot the head, breaking the mask, and downing it.

"...I know that language..." Gus remarked. "That's Chinese... Isn't it."

"Close. It's Cantonese." Sherry explained, before there was the sound of elevators reaching the destination, ahead of them, as Gus immediately readied his weapon.

"I won't ask more about it. What's important now, is that we survive for the time being, even escape unscathed first." Gus stated, as the two of them rushed down the hallway, as Gus gunned down any J'avo that tried to get in their path, while picking up fresh ammo magazines from the dropped weapons, for his gun.

Eventually, they reached a locker room, where they saw that on one end of the room, there was a door locked by a input keypad. They then saw a J'avo enter through another door into the room. Sherry and Gus made their presence scarce, as Gus peeked through a corner, watching the J'avo input the code to open the door. When the J'avo was through the door, Sherry and Gus approached it.

"It should be this..." Gus muttered, as he inputted the same combination of symbols, as they turned green, opening the door. "Yes!"

As they went through the door, they found that they were in sight of a room filled with several J'avo, who were patrolling the room, as well as a camera mounted with a chain-gun under it. They waited a few moments, expecting the mutated zombies to move apart, but they just simply moved around the room, worrying Gus, who was ready to fire at the J'avo, despite the danger it might pose.

However, fortunately for both of them, the camera then jerked side-to-side, as if it was being controlled, before it then aimed at each of the J'avo members in the room, firing its gun and shooting them down, amidst the panic and confusion of their own security system turning against them. Sherry and Gus then entered the room, as they saw that the camera was not moving at all.

"Lucky me. I hope that was Jake." Sherry stated with relief.

"Guess that we've got him helping us, right...?" Gus asked back, only to get no response on Sherry, who went over to the door, and inputted the same code as the last door, opening it up, and allowing them to get through it. They ran up a few flight of stairs, hopping over the ledge of one of them, before they reached a locker room, where the both of them moved to a separate locker each, still looking at each other.

"I'm glad that this is going well so far." Gus stated with a relieved tone, before he then noticed that Sherry's dress was slightly loose, exposing a part of her bosom. "You might want to fix up your clothes."

"Oh...? Oh!" Sherry cried out, looking down to see the exposed part, as she immediately opened the locker door, as a screen to block Gus's view.

Gus merely sighed, before he then heard the sound of something going through the vents above, as he immediately raised his weapon up, preparing for whoever was dropping down. To his surprise, two people dropped down. One was a muscular man with shaved brown hair and grey eyes, wearing only skinny blue jeans. The other was Meiling herself, as she was dressed in a longer white patient dress. Both of them seemed to show signs of scuffle on their body, such as welt marks from attacks, and crumples in their clothing. Sherry immediately leaned out of the locker, as she righted her dress at the moment.

"Jake!" Sherry exclaimed.

"Well... This the guy you were talking about, lady?" Jake asked Meiling, who nodded silently. "Thought so. Didn't expect to meet him at gun-point though."

Gus immediately lowered his weapon, dropping it down on the ground to prove himself as not hostile. "I've helped your friend escape. She's been looking for you, unless you two planned to meet here." He stated.

"She has a name you know. It's Sherry." Jake responded back.

"Oh... Sorry for not asking about it before, Sherry." Gus turned to apologise to Sherry.

"It's fine. At least you were focusing on what mattered at the moment, and that was survival." Sherry responded back, as she leaned back into her locker, as she undid her clothes, indicating that it was also time for Gus to do the same, while Meiling and Jake took lockers on opposite ends.

"So... Looks like we found ourselves a partner each...?" Jake remarked. "I sure hope that your partner suits you as well as mine. She got both a good head and a good body. Learnt that hard, when she literally wrestled me to the ground. Gotta say she earned my respect."

"Shut it." Sherry scowled back, as she immediately worked on getting her own clothes back on. "Where are we...?"

"China." Jake responded back.

"Obviously, but where...?" Sherry asked again.

"Don't know. Don't care." Jake grumbled. "I just know I'm done being their guinea pig for the last few months."

"What did they do to you?" Sherry inquired Jake.

"Plenty. They said something about using my antibody." Jake answered back, as he got his black jacket back on his chest. "They said something about using my antibody to enhance the C-Virus."

"Oh no..." Sherry groaned. "What else did they say...?"

Jake paused for a moment, before he then said. "Hey, you two over there. Aren't you going to say something. You guys have been quiet all this time ever since we all got here."

"We don't like to interrupt in your conversations." Gus responded back, as he adjusted his uniform, which seemed to be of the same type that Richard was wearing. "We know better."

"Pft. Fine. I'll respect your wishes. Hell, Ling's quite quiet herself, even during the escape to here." Jake scoffed. "What's your name, pal?"

"It's Grant." Gus answered back, before he then adjusted his clothes once again, while Meiling already got her uniform back on, being the same brand of uniform as the others. He then turned around, as Jake adjusted his boots on his feet, while Sherry was already ready, with her dirtied white jacket, short grey pants, brown boots and blue scarf on her neck. "Guess we should stick together the rest of the way...?"

"Yeah. Let's hope that we can trust each other. I'm not quite good at this thing." Jake stated, as he shoved open another one of the lockers, revealing his confiscated weapons, as he collected them. "There we go. Now I feel a lot better about our chances of getting out of here."

The others immediately stocked up on their weapons and ammunition, before they left the room, fully clothed and armed.

"I have to let my superiors know I'm OK." Sherry stated. "But first we need to find a way to contact them."

"Right... We'll cover you along the way." Gus stated, readying his revolver for battle.

The group moved out, as they made their way towards a stair-case, noticing that there was a J'avo sniper patrolling it. Gus immediately leaned against the wall, preparing to attack the J'avo before Jake moved him aside.

"Let me." Jake responded back, as he immediately aimed his sniper rifle right at the head of the mutated zombie, causing it to erupt in a spray of blood, as it writhed around aimlessly, before its body began to harden and bulge, turning into a cocoon of some sorts.

This caused Gus to immediately to rush to the cocoon, before he then fired his revolver several times up close at the cocoon, the high-powered rounds piercing through the shell of the cocoon, as it burst apart, revealing a partially mutated zombie that splattered blood on the ground, dead. He rummaged through the body of the zombie, pulling out a octagonal badge, that had the Umbrella company symbol on one side, and Chinese details on the other.

"This seems like... some sort of identification badge or something." Gus guessed, as Meiling walked over, taking a closer look at it, and confirming the guess with a nod.

Suddenly, there was the footsteps of several J'avo approaching, as they rushed at them with their sub-machineguns and machetes, charging at them with crazed yelling.

"_Kill them all!_" One of the J'avo cried out in Cantonese, gesturing the others to attack, before he was then shot in the arm, causing him to cry out in pain. However, his arm immediately pulsed and wriggled for a few moments, before turning into a crude organic sickle, charging at the group.

Meiling immediately dodged the sickle swipe from the mutated J'avo, and then doing a high-kick that slammed into the J'avo's face, breaking the mask, and crushing part of its head, as he fell back with a cry, before dissolving.

Jake fired his shotgun at the legs of another J'avo, in a attempt to make them prone. However, as quickly as the legs were mulched by the gun-fire, long spider-like limbs sprouted out the torso, as well as insectile abdomen and thorax. Jake growled, as he immediately threw a grenade right at the zombie, just as he was trying to flip itself over to attack Jake, blowing the J'avo to pieces where it laid.

After taking care of the J'avo at the stairway, they moved up to the next floor, searching every single room and taking extra care to deal with the J'avo, who constantly mutated from whatever wound they were dealt. As the group managed to finish to sweep the floor clean of any hostiles, Jake managed to find another identification badge in the drawer of one of the rooms, Meiling found another one in a bookshelf of the floor's library room, while Gus and Sherry managed to collect four of them from the dead bodies of the J'avo.

When they made their way further through the facility, they found themselves heading for a great hall, before another J'avo blocked their way. It instantly cocooned itself, before the cocoon expelled gas at a incredible rate, while a figure slithered out through the spreading gas. When it came out, it revealed that the J'avo's hands and feet morphed into reptilian claws, and it gained scale like armor covering its head, while several horns lie around its head and neck. It also sprouts a tail, and somewhat resembles a frilled lizard.

The mutated variant immediately raised its head and body, causing everyone to be alert for whatever attack it dealt, causing them to rush to the nearest piece of cover, before it hissed, the frills and horns splitting apart to shoot a spray of needle-like projectiles that slammed into the cover. As it lowered itself down, and tried to move closer, Meiling immediately rushed out of cover, before she then grabbed the lizard-like zombie by the large head, before then slamming knee after knee into the monster's face, crushing it beyond repair, as it was killed with a final kick.

When Sherry checked the body, she found another identification badge, before the others moved out into the great hall, as they could see that in the centre was a large buddhist statue, and traditional decorations were strewn everyone, such as a gong neat the statue, and dragon statues on the corners.

"I'll tell you this, it took a lot of money to build something as big as this." Jake remarked.

"No kidding. I never saw anything outside of the one crappy room they had me in for the time." Sherry responded back. "Turns out that today, I had a surprise visitor."

"Don't blame me!" Gus shouted. "How was I supposed to know what happened when I last slept? They must have threw me in for some damned reason!"

They then made their way to the large statue in the middle, as the base had a slot in front of it, with instruction written in Chinese below it. Jake immediately read it carefully, before translating it.

"Three medallions, or badges for the west." Jake stated. "And it says that it takes 10 of those to gain passage to the east. Looks like east's the way to go. But first... Let's put in enough for the west to open up first."

"Right." Gus nodded, as he placed three of the badges that they found in the slot, since they fitted into the slot nicely. As the third badge entered the statue with a click, its head turned to the west, as one of the statues on the west rotated, placing a platform below one of the previously inaccessible doors on that side.

"OK, looks like we got the right stuff. We just need to find the rest." Jake stated, as they made their way up to the door, entering through it to the west wing. "So, Sherry. What'd they have you doing for the past six months?"

"You name it. They were trying to research the virus I'm carrying." Sherry responded back, as Gus and Meiling turned to Sherry with surprised expression. "It was the same thing I went through after Raccoon City. And it was just as shitty the second time."

"You're... infected? Then why do you look like that you're not afflicted at all...!? That thing is very contagious and severe!" Gus exclaimed.

"I know. The C-Virus is quite potent. However, there has been other biological weapons in the past like it, like the G-Virus." Sherry answered back. "I have its carrier gene. So that is why I'm not affected like the rest of the infected."

"Perhaps... It doesn't seem like that you're capable of being able to spread your virus like the ones infected by this... 'C-Virus'." Meiling answered back.

They then entered the room separately, looking for more identification badges to use, as Meiling managed to find one in a drawer. And the others found two more when checking the places where the J'avo have fallen.

After making their way to a bar-room nearby, and clearing the J'avo that were inside of it, they found a piano on one end of the room.

"So... Any bets that this piano might have something...?" Jake asked.

"I'll have a go. I'm not as good as my friend with the piano, but I know a few tunes." Gus responded back, before he then placed his hands on the keys, and played out a small familiar tune that sounded quite fitting for Meiling, before he then stopped. When he did, the piano's top slid open to reveal another identification badge inside of it.

"I guess that makes 10, including the ones we put in." Sherry stated, before they made their way back. "Come on, we don't have any reason to stay in this place longer than we have to."

They then made their way to the statue, putting in all of their badges inside, as the statue's head turned eastwards, as the door blocking their way through the east side of the facility, as they entered a small passage that led them to a door locked by two switches. Jake and Sherry flipped them on, as they came in, finding themselves in a data room of some sorts, with screens showing various details regarding the experiments done in it.

"What is this...?" Jake asked, as Sherry moved to the computers, as she immediately tapped into the system.

"Data from your experiments." Sherry explained, as she smiled when she got into the systems, before she then typed a few more keys again, as the computer beeped, and something came out of the computer, a small computer chip storing all of the information. "Here we go. It's all right here."

Jake then walked over to the other side of the room, as he saw that there were lots of boxes there. He rummaged through them, before pulling out a functioning phone, and walking over to Sherry. "Why don't you call your boss with this?" Jake offered.

Sherry took the phone, before she then inputted a number, and waited for a response on the other side. When she did, she spoke. "It's me. Sherry Birkin..." She stated.

She then looked towards Jake. "Yes, he's OK." She responded back. "We were detained... at a facility in China. And we managed to find two more survivors. They helped us escape containment together with us."

There was a slight pause, before she then exclaimed. "Really? All right, I'll send you our exact coordinates."

Sherry then turned off the phone, as she turned to the others. "They're already here in China!" Sherry told them the good news. "It's over, we're saved!"

"Hallelujah, So, you ready...?" Jake asked, before turning to Gus and Meiling. "You too, Ling and Grant."

"We're ready." Gus nodded back, as Meiling looked a little concerned.

"I may be overly cautious... But something tells us that this won't be easy... Let's not drop our guards yet." Meiling advised Jake and Sherry who nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of the J'avo patrols converging at the great hall, as their foreign cries could be heard even in a secluded room like the data room.

"I hate it when these statements are right..." Jake growled, before he pulled out his sniper rifle. "Let's go! These guys aren't much for conversation, if you haven't figured it out already."

"Good. I was sick of this place already." Sherry concurred.

"But where will we get out from...?" Gus asked. "The front doors seemed to be tightly sealed, and we found nothing of note in this room, other than the experiment data."

The group immediately re-entered the great hall, as they immediately moved for cover, since the J'avo were firing their weapons at them, to which the survivors retaliated back severely, taking out several J'avos, even after they mutated into varying forms. However, just as the number of enemies was thinning, a large tank crashed through the doors of the hall, with a mighty slam that shook the entire facility, staggering the group.

"Are you kidding me!?" Jake exclaimed, before the tank's barrel swivelled around slowly towards the group. "A damn tank...!?"

"Oh crap, RUN!" Sherry cried, as the survivors scattered, before the tank blew their cover to smithereens with a high-powered tank shell.

Gus then looked around for any way to get out of the tank's sights, before his eyes traced along the edge of the hall, towards a door leading into another wing, in the upper floors.

"There! We can get across there!" Gus shouted, pointing at the door.

"Not going to work for Sherry." Jake responded back, pointing that the statue has reverted back to its normal position, with the platform retracted, and its wide metal branch having a horizontal part that could be used as a bar to swing across on. "Sherry, just try not to get killed, until I get across and find a way to bring you up. Can the two of you cross with me?"

"Yes." Gus answered back, as the three of them rushed up the stairs, before they each swung across using the statue's branch, and reaching the other side, where they searched for a ledge to pull Sherry up on. When Meiling found it, she immediately called out to Sherry.

"Sherry, over here!" Meiling shouted, as Sherry rushed over to where the ledge was, rolling out of the way of a tank shell exploding near her, before she jumped and caught Meiling's hand, as the draconic lady quickly pulled the young woman up.

When they stepped through the doors, the ground under them suddenly caved in, dropping them down to the ground floor of the wing, as they slowly got up, before hearing the revving of the tank behind them, and turned to see that the tank was approaching them.

"Jesus Christ!" Jake swore, as the four of them broke into a sprint to get away from the tank, dodging side to side to avoid the cannon shots that were aimed at them.

When they found a corner to turn around at, they immediately took it, and hopped through an open window, down into a small alley that had rubbish bags on the sides. As they looked around, they made their way to the door at the end, which took them into a large room that had a large lake in the bottom, and small alcoves on the sides. The tank then crashed through the side of the room, right into the lake.

"Oh, come on! Enough already!" Jake cursed, as they immediately made their way up the stairs to the path above, before Gus moved along to find a lever, which he pulled to turn one of the branch-wielding statues in the right place for the others to cross. Everyone except Sherry did so, as the young agent was forced to take care of the pursuing J'avo. However, Gus turned around and took care of them from the other end, using his revolver to take them out with several shots.

Meiling and Jake looked around, as they could see a large statue in front of them, and right past it, was a room that had a large red motorbike inside of it, visible through the glass windows.

"How the hell do I get over there...?" Jake pondered, before Meiling tapped his shoulder, and then the statue in front of them. "Oh, that's easy enough, but the damn question is how we TURN that damn thing!?"

"The tank." Meiling responded back, as she hopped down into the lake. "I'll goad it into a charge. Do you have grenades?"

"To attract its attention? Suit yourself, lady." Jake chuckled, as he dropped the grenades to Meiling one by one, before he then pulled out his sniper rifle. "Call me when you're done. I've got a agent to cover with your friend."

Meiling nodded, before she then turned to the tank, and immediately threw them under the tank's underbelly, causing a large explosion to rock the tank, and focus its attention squarely on Meiling, who was right in front of it. It immediately rushed forward, as Meiling retreated to the side of the statue, causing the tank to brush itself against the large statue, turning it as the tank ground against its base, rotating it approximately 90 degrees clockwise.

"It seems that it's working." Meiling stated to herself. "Again!"

She then repeated the process twice, as she dodged the cannon shots aimed at her, as well as the J'avo firing down at her. She then looked up towards Jake.

"Jake! The statue has been positioned as needed!" Meiling shouted.

"Really?" Jake asked, before he then lowered his sniper rifle and looked at the statue, whose branch was in the right place to swing across to the other alcove. "Damn, thanks for that."

Jake then immediately did a running start to gain the distance needed to reach the branch of the statue, before swinging across and landing on top of the tank. "Thanks for the opening!" Jake smirked, before he then jumped off the tank, and right to the other side. Meiling immediately vaulted on top of the tank, and went after Jake, who rushed up the stairs, taking out the J'avo blocking his way.

"Just a little more, Sherry! I found a bike! Hold on!" Jake shouted.

They then entered the room, as there was a display of a car nearby, as well as the motorbike that Jake saw in the room. However, in the far corner of the room, was another motorbike, this one blue.

"Well, it looks like you're in luck as well. A motorcycle for the both of us." Jake chuckled. "Come on, China-lady, you know how to ride a motorcycle...?"

"...I can attempt to." Meiling responded back, as she immediately took the bike and mounted it, starting its engine, with Jake doing the same.

Almost at the same time, both bikes broke out of the room through the window, causing Gus and Sherry to abandon holding off the J'avo, as they dropped down and went on their respective bikes. Gus immediately let Meiling get off the driver side of the bike, and put himself on the handles, with Meiling on the back.

"I'm sorry, Grant, but you would be better driving this bike than I would." Meiling told Gus.

"It's fine. You just need to cover our back, Ling." Gus responded back.

Jake and Gus revved their bike, facing off the tank, before the tank fired a tank shell at them, which they dodged by accelerating at the right time so that the tank shell whizzed past them. They both gunned down towards the staircases, using them as a ramp to break out of the facility, and onto the road to the city centre.

The two bikes then steadied themselves, rushing down the highway road.

"Whew... Now that was a experience." Jake huffed. "Say... You coming with us? I don't mind helping you all out, since you're obviously could care less about the mess we've gotten ourselves into."

"Yeah. We're looking for a friend of ours. We heard news that they would be making their way to China, right in this city." Gus nodded. "I hope that you wouldn't mind our company until then."

"Fair enough. We'll find your friends, and then we'll be happily on our own ways from there. Deal?" Jake offered.

"Deal." Gus agreed, as they passed under the bridge, through a sign that indicated they're entering the city outskirts right now.


	7. Jake Chapter 2

Unmei Force: Infection

Jake Chapter 2: Surprising Twists in the City

* * *

_On the outskirts of the city..._

Two motorcycles roared down the roads ahead of them, one red, which Jake is driving with Sherry on his back, and one blue, which Gus was riding, with Meiling sitting on the back, holding firmly onto him to avoid hurting him with her strong grip.

Sherry then immediately pulled out her phone, before she then turned it on, and contacted someone through it.

"Yes... We're alright." Sherry assured the recipient of the call, before she listened to what they had to say. "Understood. I'll make sure... We'll be there soon."

Sherry then pocketed the phone, as Jake looked up. "What did he say?" Jake asked. "Because I know that must have been Simmons, right?"

"He gave me the rendezvous coordinates. It's close." Sherry responded back.

"I hope that we can get there quickly. Any help would be appreciated right now..." Gus muttered.

"Be careful of that statement, Grant." Meiling responded back to Gus, as she looked around. "You might never know what could come in the future."

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of rotor blades cutting through the air, as well as a bright light shining down on them from above, as the drivers rolled their eyes to look back, and the passengers turned their head, to see that there was a attack helicopter following them.

"Argh... Great..." Jake growled, as the attack helicopter began to attack them with its vulcan cannons, pelting the ground around them with bullets. "Hang on!"

Jake then immediately revved the motorcycle's engine noisily, before doing a wheelie to gather momentum on his front wheel, before then slamming it down to speed around the bend. Gus merely leaned forward, before gesturing for Meiling to hold on as well, as he revved the engine and swerved out of the heli's spotlight and out of range of its guns.

As they sped down the road, the attack helicopter launched missiles from its launchers, as they spiralled into the walls beside the road, breaking large pieces of them with strong explosions.

"They're trying to mow us down!" Sherry exclaimed.

"Yeah thanks! I have ears! God only knows how we're going to get out of this!" Jake shouted back, as the heli moved around to face them, before firing its vulcans.

The two motorcycles immediately weaved to opposing sides to avoid the barrage of shots coming their way, before they turned through a sharp bend, as the heli moved over it, allowing them to catch a breath for the moment, for the length of the tunnel. However, when they moved out of the tunnel, the road ahead was blocked, and the only way through was a small ramp-like rocky ledge that overlooked the entire city itself, without any railing to stop them from going across

"Wait, we have to literally jump from there...!?" Gus exclaimed with horror, seeing how high the jump was going to be, as they approached it.

"Shut up and get driving! The motorcycle is reinforced enough to handle the fall! You got any better ideas right now, because I'm all ears for it!" Jake roared at Gus. "Tell your friend to hold on when we fall! You as well, Sherry!"

"Do not worry. You have enough time to right your position in a way that would minimise the impact, before we reach the ground below." Meiling assured Gus.

"That's NOT what I... Ugh, forget it... Here goes nothing!" Gus exclaimed, as both motorcycles flew off the ramp, as they flew over the entire city, across several skyscrapers and tall buildings, as Sherry and Gus screamed during their fall, with Meiling and Jake preparing for impact.

When they landed, their motorcycles impacted the ground with such brutal force that it seemed impossible for the wheels of the motorcycle, let alone the entire hull of the motorcycles to be still working from the fall, yet their motorcycles merely bounced a few feet onto the ground, before landing back on the ground safely.

"...Whew..." Gus sighed in relief, as they drove down the streets, taking a moment to wipe the cold sweat gathering on his brow. "We made it in one piece..."

"Oh my god... Jake...!" Sherry stated in distress, seeing the ruined and chaotic state of the city around them.

"This city is going to hell in a handbasket, no doubt about it, if we have those zombies running everywhere here..." Jake grumbled, before he then saw there was a ramp ahead. "Ramp ahead!"

They immediately ran up it, as they were in the air, before they saw that there was a wall of scaffolding ahead of them, and a J'avo holding a rocket-launcher that was aimed at them, and beside them was a explosive barrel that seemed to be powerful enough to topple the scaffolding if it reacted.

"Somebody shoot the barrel-!" Gus was about to say, before Sherry quickly drew her side-arm and fired at the barrel, causing it to explode, destroying the J'avo and toppling the scaffolding, allowing them to reach the other side without harm, as they leaned to resist the impact of the fall.

"Ugh... This is really starting to hurt..." Sherry groaned, rubbing her sore chest.

"Next time I'll steal a limo! Take a page out of Ling's book, won't you!? She's fine as it is!" Jake shouted back.

"Ling... Take the magnum. You'll need something to shoot with." Gus told Meiling, as he shuffled to allow Meiling access to the Magnum that was sheathed on his waist.

"...Got it." Meiling stated, as she quickly drew the gun out, and held it firmly in her hands.

When they continued down the streets, they could hear the sound of other motorcycles approaching them, as a group of J'avo riding motorcycles rushed towards them. Meiling and Sherry immediately got to work thinning their numbers, as Meiling used the Magnum's high penetration rounds to shoot out wheels of the enemy motorcycles, causing them to skid across the ground, and explode when they crashed into the obstacles around them, while Sherry opted on taking out the drivers instead.

"Bend ahead! Hold on tight!" Gus cried out, as Sherry and Meiling stopping firing to cling onto their drivers, as the motorcycles slid across a sharp turn, before they righted themselves up, allowing Meiling and Sherry to continue firing.

After taking out a few of the pursuing J'avo, they moved onto another set of scaffolding, as the attack helicopter pursuing them before appeared again, this time right beside them, as it fired on the scaffolding in front of them with its vulcans, before then firing a missile that struck the area in front of them, shaking Sherry off the motorcycle, as the force of the explosion propelled her right onto the railing under the helicopter, as she clung on tightly.

"Jake! Help!" Sherry shouted. "I can't hold on for long!"

The two motorcycles immediately dropped back onto ground, as they swerved around, with Jake growling.

"Son of a... Goddamn it!" Jake cursed, before he then revved up the engine and rushed after the helicopter. "Yes, you can! I'm coming!"

The scaffolding pieces fell towards Jake, as he dodged them deftly, while Gus and Meiling were right behind him. They then managed to reach under the helicopter, before Sherry lost her grip. Jake immediately throttled in front, before twisting his motorcycle around to catch Sherry with the back of the motorcycle with a thud. She immediately got back up, and held onto Jake, as both motorcycles continued down the streets.

"You OK?" Jake asked, as Sherry shot down one of the J'avo pursuers behind them.

"Yeah. Nice catch." Sherry nodded back, before she then saw that the attack helicopter was hot on their tails. "Behind us!'

"Damnit... We need to find a way to shake them off...!" Gus growled.

The attack helicopter immediately fired another missile at them, as it struck tanker that was incoming, destabilising the large vehicle, and causing it to block the entire street ahead.

"Down...!" Meiling called out, as both drivers immediately leaned low to slide under the truck. When they got back up, Meiling watched as the helicopter flew above the tanker. She immediately fired her Magnum right at the tanker, as it exploded in a plume of flame that caused the helicopter to raise slightly, and move back from the resulting explosion.

Taking this as a opportunity, Gus and Jake immediately sped up to shake off the helicopter behind them. They then jumped right into the floor of one of the buildings, passing through the narrow corridors ahead, barely wide enough for them to pass in a single file. When they did, the front of the building was immediately blown apart, revealing that the attack helicopter has returned to their pursuit.

"The helicopter's back!" Sherry shouted.

"Bastard was waiting for us. Keep your heads down, you two!" Jake shouted to Gus and Meiling, as the two of them immediately shifted to the side, and tilted to protect themselves from the hail of bullets that were coming their way, as they shot out of the hole created, and right onto a freeway, as they immediately sped up running down the highway and evading traffic from both sides.

They also dealt with another wave of J'avo pursuers, as they shot them down before they could manage to get a clear shot on them. However, the helicopter continued unimpeded in the air, as it moved to the front, where it targeted a multi-tiered tow truck packed with cars, as it shot at the metal locks on the back of the tow truck, as well as the wheels, causing it to swerve into a uncontrollable slide, smashing it into other cars to create a pile of cars, all while dropping cars that flipped towards the two motorcycles.

When they managed to dodge the cars coming their way, they both revved their motorcycles up, as they shot off the tow-truck's ramp, flying into a small enclosed section of the city, as their landings were impeded by the explosive barrels in their ways. Their bikes collided with both ground and metal, as it threw the riders and passengers off their respective bikes, which was promptly destroyed when they impacted the wall with the barrels they knocked across. The four immediately shielded themselves from the sudden heat and small debris that flew in their direction, before getting back up. Jake immediately lifted Sherry up.

"You alright?" Jake asked Sherry.

"I'm fine." Sherry answered back with a calm expression, before she looked around.

"It seems that we will have to proceed on foot from here. Not good considering that we have a heli after us..." Gus grumbled, before they heard that the attack helicopter was circling the area, to which Jake cursed under his breath. However, another surprise appeared before their eyes, as they saw that several men in military uniforms were proceeding along the rooftops above, led by a grizzled man with a familiar face. And with them, was Marisa and Sanae themselves, as they were dressed in the mercenary uniform, much like the other members in the world at the moment. As the two came into view, they looked down, before their expression turned into surprise, just as Gus and Meiling did the same back.

"Looks like Redfield and his boyscouts are here, too." Jake remarked, as he looked up to see the leader of the group of soldiers, then at Marisa and Sanae on the other side. "Hm...? That's strange. These girls definitely don't look like that they're your typical BSAA lackeys. I'd say that they've must be part of another group that is working along with the BSAA here."

"They're... here...?" Gus asked back. "So we were going to bump into each other eventually then...?"

"They're...?" Jake asked, before he then turned to Gus. "The hell are you talking about...? Do you recognise some of them...? Because I most certainly recognise Redfield here."

"Just trust me on this for now, Jake." Gus stated. "Those two ladies up there are our friends. They won't do anything rash to impede or harm us. As long as we work together on our separate fronts, we should be able to prevent any misunderstandings."

"And it sure looks like the same is being said about your friends up there." Jake responded back, referring to how Marisa and Sanae were communicating with the BSAA members, before the leader, Redfield, immediately nodded, before he and his partner turned to face the group on the ground, just as J'avo surged from several different alleyways leading into the area, as they trained their weapons on the four of them.

"Jake!" Sherry exclaimed, as Jake turned his attention back to the more urgent matter before him, as the four of them readied their weapons for battle. "Chris's team will protect us."

"We don't need their damn help! And I didn't ask for it either!" Jake stated, before he turned to Gus. "Since your friends are with the BSAA, I guess that once we find a way to get you guys up to them, it's separate ways for us then? We rather not have you stick with us before we meet at the rendezvous!"

"I know that you don't like him, but if Chris is here..." Sherry responded back.

"All right, all right! Enough about Redfield! It's getting old with how long we talked about it!" Jake exclaimed.

The group immediately engaged the J'avo, while the soldiers from above providing some covering fire, with Chris, Sanae and Marisa contributing the most, as Marisa used a shoulder-mount rocket launcher to blow groups of them up to smithereens, while Sanae and Chris were using their rifles to attack the enemy from the side and back where they were exposed. Jake's group was forced to take cover often, in order to avoid the helicopter's fire on them, while Gus used a sniper rifle to pick off several mutated J'avo that were engaging Chris's group. After several of them were downed, Sanae gave Gus a grateful thumbs-up gesture, before she then focused her fire on taking out the enemies that were threatening her and Marisa.

Eventually, the J'avo pursuers were eventually taken care of, both above and on the ground, as the attack helicopter immediately ascended higher, but not before firing a series of missiles at Jake's group, forcing them to dodge out of the way, as it moved out of range. As the group recovered themselves, they immediately made for the ladder on the other end of the area, as they climbed it. They passed through the nearby door, as it took them into another area, where they could see that the attack helicopter was engaging Chris's group, far above them.

"Screw all of this running. I'm taking that chopper out." Jake growled, just as several J'avo jumped down to where they are, as they wielded weapons in their arms, but their lower bodies were turned into that of a mantis, with the long stick-like legs and the reinforced abdomen. The group make quick work of them, by taking out their legs with heavy firepower, and executing the zombies through a series of methods.

"How do you plan on doing that? With what!?" Sherry shouted back.

"Not sure. Kinda making this up as I go!" Jake responded back.

"My sniper rifle has armour-piercing rounds loaded within it." Gus suggested. "If I can get a clear shot on its essential parts, I can at least weaken and disarm the helicopter enough for the others to finish the job for us."

"Well, I also have some explosive rounds that can even the odds as well. But we're not in the proper range to help out. Come on!" Sherry shouted back, as the group immediately ascended higher above using the ladders scattered around the area, until they managed to reach a point where they can be able to got a good aim on the chopper, and barely see Chris's group taking down the chopper.

"First to go... is the rotor blades." Gus intoned, as he focused his vision and took out one of the rotor blades, slowing it down considerably, before he then loaded another shot, and aimed for a point within the hull, which managed to cause fuel to spill out from the damage. "...Got it! This should be able to-"

Before Gus could finish their sentences, the helicopter was immediately blown apart to pieces, as they fell to the ground, still burning. Jake's group immediately looked up, as they saw that Chris, his partner, Marisa and Sanae were looking down, causing the two groups' eyes to meet for a brief moment.

After a few moments, Sherry immediately turned to Jake. "Come on, let's go." Sherry stated. "Our orders are to avoid contact with anyone, and we haven't been doing a good job for the moment, considering Grant and Ling with us."

"Does he even know if Wesker was my father...?" Jake muttered under his breath, before he then sighed and turned back to the ground. "Maybe I just rubbed him the wrong way."

Jake and Sherry immediately descended back to the ground, while Meiling and Gus were still looking at the group. He then immediately gestured that Sanae and Marisa should continue along their way, before he and Meiling immediately followed after Jake and Sherry, disappearing from the other group's sight, and following Sherry and Jake into a long winding corridor, as they proceeded carefully. They made their way outside, as the path indicated that they were heading to the city shopping area.

"Did you even see that kind of helicopter they sent after us?" Jake remarked. "A bird like that costs around fifteen million dollars. Man, terrorism is lucrative."

"Maybe they have an oil baron or two in their pocket." Sherry suggested.

"Oil Barons? In the country I was born in, people think Uncle Sam causes most of the problems in this world." Jake scoffed.

"Wait... But why would they send a advanced helicopter like this, for the sole purpose of trying to capture us back...? Do we even have a better value than what they could possibly have thrown at us. All those weapons, all those men, and now this... What exactly do we have that is worth taking us back into experimentation and imprisonment." Gus remarked with a outraged tone.

"Still haven't figured it out...? We sort of discussed that me and Sherry have been experimented on, since she possess some old-gen biological virus that works the same as the C-Virus. So they're trying to attempt a synergy between the two strains, to make it both more potent and viral if possible." Jake explained back.

"But that doesn't explain you." Meiling pointed the fact out.

"Ah yes... Turns out that I'm completely 100% immune to this cocooning crap." Jake shrugged back. "That's because of the fact that I inherited some antibodies from daddy dearest that does so. And it's much more useful than Sherry's own stuff, since it's the only known vaccine for it, so they are more onto trying to get me back, than trying to get her back. But that begs the question: How did you two even get here...? I sure don't remember the Neo-Umbrella guys bringing in more test subjects."

"...We can't exactly remember." Gus answered back. "I mean, the furthest memory that relates to the current events, that I can recall, is waking up in that bed, where I met Sherry. Nothing else before that. Sure, it might be suspicious, but I doubt that me and Meiling would be some sort of sleeper agent, considering that there were better opportunities to activate it back in the facility."

"Well, at least you're honest about it. And call it a feeling, but although you two are strangely inhuman to some degree, I know for a fact that you ain't some sort of mutated freak, or a genetically altered one like me." Jake stated.

Eventually they made their way into the area, where they caught the sight of even more J'avo that were patrolling the space.

"Man, everywhere you look, there's more of these assholes. Sucks to be so popular with them." Jake scowled, as he threw a flash-bang in the middle of a group of them, disorienting them to allow the survivors to quickly dispatch of them.

"There's no sneaking around them, is there...?" Sherry commented as well.

They then proceeded down the streets of the area, before they found that the path ahead was blocked by a flaming pile of car wrecks, and the door to the alley on the side seemed to be rusted. Jake immediately attempted to open it, before he felt that it was bolted shut.

"Ah, fuck me..." Jake growled, before he then looked up on the side, finding a ladder that led up a area where he can swing across to reach the other side. "A moment."

He then climbed up the ladder, before he then swung his way to the other side of the gate, before opening the gate door on the other side, sliding open the bolt that was keeping it shut. They then made their way through the building that was ahead, as they moved to a small unfinished room, with a scaffolding ledge where the window should be, as the path across was quite unstable and shaky, considering that the ladder to cross on was tied together by rope.

Gus immediately stepped onto the ladder himself, carefully treading on it, before it immediately began to loosen under his weight, causing him to tumble onto the soft and bouncy shop covers, and landing hard on the ground. He immediately groaned as he got up slowly.

"Just great..." Gus muttered under his breath.

"Hey, you alright down there...? That was a hard fall there!" Jake shouted to Gus,

"I'm just peachy. Don't worry about me. Just find a way down first!" Gus yelled back, as he immediately moved forward, and dealt with the J'avo in the way, as the other three survivors moved around the building, before they managed to find a way down back on the ground. When they found another bolted door, Sherry immediately found a way across, using Jake's help to vault her onto a broken ladder, which she climbed up to reach a set of platforms that took her to the other side, where she unlocked the gate door, allowing them to pass through.

They made their way towards another street, which was blocked off by a large double-decker bus wreck, and a large white barrel. When they moved forward, they stopped suddenly, when they heard the sound of zombie growling coming from above, as a zombie that had a overly thorny body, and a right arm that seemed to be mutated into a small ribcage that ensnared a working chainsaw inside of it. It then slammed onto the bus wreck, and onto the barrel, spilling its oily contents on the floor around it. It then immediately got up, before snarling and activating its chainsaw, striking it on the ground, igniting the barrel's fuel, turning the entire area into one surrounded by flames, as barrels were set off by the spreading flames, covering the entire area.

"Don't get too close! You'll be ripped to shreds!" Sherry warned the others.

"Duly noted, Sherry." Meiling answered back, as the group kept their distance, taking shots at the crazed zombie while doing so. When the zombie was dazed for a brief moment, Meiling immediately rushed up to the zombie, and shifted the chainsaw-wielding arm away from her, before then slamming her fist right into the right arm, shattering the boney cage surrounding the chainsaw, and destroying several parts of it. She then finished the zombie off with a high-kick strong enough to pulverise the zombie's face.

"Damn... That's some good martial arts there." Jake complimented Meiling's skill.

They then immediately moved out of the burning area, right into the path to the main shopping area. As they did, they suddenly felt a massive rush of wind from behind them, as a large airplane soared above their heads, with one of its engines smoking from unknown damage. It then rushed towards the ground, right in the direction of the shopping area, as it exploded shortly after, shaking the area firmly, and causing a flash of orange light.

"It's American...!" Sherry exclaimed. "Could it be...!?"


	8. Leon Chapter 6

Unmei Force: Infection

Leon Chapter 6: Problems on the Airline

* * *

_Inside a airplane, hanging over Chinese airspace..._

Leon looked out the window, seeing only the dark murky night sky in view, sitting on a couch, that was connect to a window-side table. On the opposite of him was Richard and Reisen, who seemed to be quietly carrying the large duffel bag in their laps, as Richard carefully checked the weapons inside of it, to ensure that there is enough ammo for the battle to come. While they were doing their own things, the entire airplane was lively with the sound of passengers walking around, as one of the wall-mounted screens showed live coverage of a Chinese city, that was being ravaged by the zombies and their virus.

Helena immediately came towards the group, as she took her seat next to Leon, before facing Leon. "We just entered Chinese airspace." She stated.

"Good." Leon nodded back.

"That means that things are going along well. Nobody suspect the fact that we're after you-know-who." Richard stated, as he slid a clip quietly into his assault rifle that was inside the bag, while his own handgun was hidden in a holster by his waist.

Helena merely sighed, as she placed her elbow on the table, lowering her head and clutching the side of her face with a hand. Reisen immediately turned to face her.

"What's wrong?" Reisen asked, as Helena turned to Leon.

"Why didn't you turn me in, Leon?" Helena asked. "If you had just done that, you would have cleared your name up. And as for you two... Why are you so intent on bringing down Simmons?"

"Alright, I'll answer both of your questions. One: You think that Simmons would be smart enough to allow Leon to be free of his convictions, when he knows for a fact that he got the dirt on him?" Richard answered back, as his expression turned into one of slight anger. "You saw how he bombed the place to eradicate just the four of us. The entire community, all gone, because of him. He doesn't give horse-shit about people. He'll stab you in the back faster than you can utter his name. So playing obedient would only condemn Leon in this case. So you better preserve, because that's the only way that all of this can come to a appropriate resolution. Now two: Didn't I already tell you, I want Simmons FUCKING dead, and I will riddle his corpse with enough bullets to make him a human pincushion to ensure that. But since death is a mercy compared to incarceration, I'm willing to cooperate and help you fight through his goons and zombies, so that you get the chance to finish this once and for all."

"I see..." Helena nodded back, before Leon placed a hand on her shoulder, surprising her.

"Besides, you're starting to grow on me a little bit." Leon stated with a faint smile on his lips.

Helena smiled back, as she looked into Leon's eye with gratitude, before the plane shook violently, with a large crashing sound above, as the entire room rocked up and down, for a few moments, causing both mercenaries and agents to cling onto their seats, waiting until the violent rocking has ceased.

"The hell...!? What the hell happened that would cause such a cataclysmic reaction from the plane...!?" Richard swore.

"We'll need to check ourselves." Reisen stated, pointing towards the various passengers, who were fleeing past the four of them. "Either way, we best be prepared."

"I'll heft the bag. I doubt that this is mere turbulence at work here..." Richard offered, as he immediately swung the back onto his back, with straps over his shoulders and handles in his hands.

The four of them immediately got up, before they rushed up the stairs to the cockpit, pushing towards the automated door to the cockpit, which opened to reveal the fallen corpse of the co-pilot, causing the four of them to draw their side-arms, slowly advancing and checking for hidden dangers.

"Over there...!" Reisen exclaimed, pointing at the pilot seat, which seemed to be covered by a cocoon that was possibly created by the C-virus.

Suddenly, the cocoon began to crack, as the plane shook again, almost knocking them all off their feet, as a figure rose out of the cocoon like a bulge, before breaking it open, splattering organic fluid over the flight controls and seats. The being that came out was the same one that they fought back in the cathedral, with the massive amount of pores covering its body. It immediately growled as it advanced towards the four of them.

"You don't suppose that thing can fly a plane, do you?" Leon deadpanned, his gun already up.

"Fuck that, I think that thing is trying to CRASH the plane!" Richard cursed back, before he immediately slammed the weapon-filled bag down, before he then pulled out several incendiary grenades. "Here! Burn the bastard with these, when he's out of the cockpit!"

The other three caught the grenades that Richard threw to them, while he picked up several ones, before he immediately pulled out an assault rifle, and immediately equipped it into his own hands. Leon immediately opened up channels to Hunnigan, before speaking.

"Hunnigan, we have a problem... A big one." Leon reported. "The pilot has mutated into the same kind of monster we fought back in the cathedral. If there are more of them here... Then that means..."

"I... I understand. Hold on, I'm looking something up." Hunnigan responded back, as the survivors battled with the gas-emitting creature, keeping their distance, before throwing one of the grenades to burn it up, along with its viral gas. As soon as the flames died down, Richard immediately fired bursts of rifle fire into the mutant zombie, hurting it quite severely. However, before Richard could reload to fire again, the monster immediately jumped right through one of the lights above it, entering the outer fuselage of the plane itself, as it crawled off.

"Damn it...!" Leon cursed.

"If it gets to the people below... Then we'll have a severe problem in our hands!" Reisen exclaimed. "Where could it possibly go now!?"

Richard then noticed that there was something blaring in the cockpit, as he entered it, before stopping before a monitor, the source of the noise, as it showed the entire structure of the plane, as the tail area was glowing a angry red compared to the natural blue, with the word 'ALERT' flashing under the entire structure.

"Leon, Helena, do you read me!?" Hunnigan called out to both agents, as they picked up the call. "There's something wrong with the pressure bulkhead. Get to the tail of the plane, find out what's wrong with it!"

"Got it." Leon stated, before he managed to grab his shotgun from the duffel bag on the ground, as well as several clips for it, while Reisen did the same with her sniper rifle. Helena merely picked up several more clips for her side-arm. After his allies collected what they needed from the duffel bag, Richard immediately closed the duffel bag, before hefting it on his back, as they left the top floor of the plane.

As the group passed by, they found the various passengers in their seats, with some comforting those who look a little sick or disoriented, while others seemed to be afraid of what is happening.

"Everyone calm down! Get in your seats and stay there." Helena told the people as they passed by them. "We are only here to help."

They then entered the lower part of the plane, as Richard opened the door to the maintenance room of the plane, where they found that several oxygen tanks connected to the pipes inside the plane were leaking profusely, letting out strong hissing sounds, which was overlaid by the sound of the alarm linked to the pressure bulkhead.

Leon and Helena immediately vaulted over crates to reach the valve connected to the pressure bulkhead, as they turned the large wheel together with a few grunts, until the oxygen tanks stopped hissing, and the alarm inside the room halted immediately.

"I think we made it in time." Helena stated with relief, before one of the vents leading into the room was smashed open, as the same creature that was inside the cockpit dropped down into the room, before it immediately let out a heavy burst of blue viral gas, which quickly spread out of the room.

"Mmph...!" Richard exclaimed, before he immediately scrambled for the box that contained the back hatch controls, while the others held their breath tightly, evading from the creature. He immediately pried open the box with his bare hands, before then slamming the lever inside down, causing the hatch to open immediately, creating a air vacuum that sucked the viral gas out, while also dragging the creature out of the plane, as it let out a screech as it fell out. However, Leon and Helena were also dragged out of the plane, although they managed to catch their hands onto the hatch.

"Hold on, you two!" Richard stated, as he immediately pulled the hatch lever up, before the vacuum could drag any of the heavy crates inside to rush towards either of them. When the hatch closed completely, Leon and Helena slid down the hatch itself, before they slowly got up.

"Thank you." Leon thanked Richard, before Hunnigan interrupted them, before Richard could reply.

"The plane's gaining altitude! Get to the cockpit!" Hunnigan notified the agent.

"Raz, Helena, Mira, we need to go now!" Leon shouted.

"Got that!" Richard exclaimed, as the four of them immediately moved back up to the passenger level of the plane, as they saw that the lights inside were off, and every single passenger inside was turned into a zombie.

"...No..." Reisen mouthed with horror.

"Damn it...! That fucker filled the passenger level with the viral gas, before it came down to where we were...!" Richard cursed. "They're all gone, Leon... We need to get past them, no matter what!"

The four of them immediately rushed through the rooms, as they put down the turned passengers of the plane, before they were blocked by a broken part of the ceiling, which Richard and Leon pushed away, allowing them to proceed. However, not a few steps past it, the plane immediately shook once again, before it lurched to the right, causing them to fall on their backs right on the wall of the plane, as they managed to stop several bags of luggage from slamming hard into them, as several bottles of drinks smashed themselves beside them, spraying them with bitter and sweet liquids. The plane then suddenly righted itself, as the four of them got back up.

"This is why I can never sleep on planes!" Leon groaned, as they immediately rushed to the cockpit, where the blaring sound evolved into a full-on alarm, as the plane display not only showed that the back area was still red, but also two engines, one on each side, the left wing was now red as well.

"Oh fuck me..." Richard cursed. "It's a miracle that it's a engine on each side that's been broken down. But with that left wing jacked up... We're not going to be flying this thing much longer, and that's assuming that nothing more breaks at this rate...!"

"When you opened the hatch, you destabilised the plane by letting the pressure out." Hunnigan stated. "Leon, you're going to need to take the controls!"

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Leon grumbled, before he immediately walked to the pilot seat, brushing away the gooey cocoon fragments, before sitting himself down. "Fine. I'll fly. You three do something about those infected! I don't think that all of them are dead yet."

"Copy that." Reisen nodded, as she, Helena and Richard immediately turned around, as they moved forward to cover the path to the cockpit, as zombies were already shambling up the steps.

"OK, first switch off the autopilot to restore manual control." Hunnigan instructed Leon. "Then press the third button in the fourth row of the upper control panel. That should allow you to unlock access to several system in the plane itself."

Leon immediately did so, as he pressed the green button that controlled the autopilot, as it turned red, before pressing the button on the upper control panel, as several lighted-up panels turned off, just as Hunnigan relayed the next set of instructions.

"OK, now pull the lever on the right hand side." Hunnigan stated. "It should allow the plane to rise, by shifting the inner balance to allow proper flight."

Leon looked for the lever, before he pulled it down, as the plane slightly shifted up, while Richard managed to take down several zombies by head-shots using his assault rifle.

"The situation done here?" Richard asked.

"No, we're still falling...!" Leon called back.

"For fuck's sake, whatever your handler is telling you to do, first pull the throttle up! Pull that damn wheel back!" Richard shouted, as he immediately used a knife to catch a zombie that tried to lunge at him, as he killed it with a swift thrust to the head.

"How many levers does it take to fly this thing...!?" Leon complained with a increasingly desperate tone, before he immediately placed both hands on the pilot wheel, before pulling it back with all of his might. "Come on, we're almost there..."

The plane moved up a bit, before it then continued its descent towards the ground, as it flew right into the city. It immediately descended for the streets, as Richard barely managed to see the ground approaching.

"SHIT! EVERYONE BRACE!" Richard hollered with all of his voice.

The plane then immediately smashed into the ground, as the damaged left wing immediately broke off hitting the ground, and the main body of the plane hit the ground several times, bouncing everyone but Leon across the plane, as the agent was slammed back and forth on the seat. It immediately ground to a halt, inside a large street junction, as there were shipping crates and debris scattered around the plane, and with most of the surrounding area in flames due to the spilled fuel.

Leon immediately gave himself a moment to shake off the dizziness that resulted from all the tossing he received, before he picked himself up and looked back to check the others. Reisen was stuck upside-down with her back against the wall, Richard was slammed face-first into the floor, with his head smashed against the wall, while Helena, who was the luckiest of them all, was sprawled over the floor, seemingly uninjured.

They all groaned, as Richard clutched his head with a hiss of agony. "Ow... That still hurts after the blow that was dealt to my head yesterday..." Richard cursed.

Leon ignored Richard's comment, as he and the others left the plane, with Reisen knocking one of the emergency exits open, allowing them to get their feet on the ground, as they observed the burning landscape around them.

"The fuck is this...?" Richard stated, before he clutched his hand. "Great, things just got a whole lot worse..."

"...Kaz...? Mira...?" Gus's voice exclaimed.

"Is that... Leon!?" Sherry exclaimed as well, as the both of them rush towards the group. Jake merely grumbles in protest under his breath, before he then follows Sherry and Gus with Meiling.

At this point, Leon's group heard the other survivors coming towards them, turning their attention to them.

"Sherry...?" Leon asked. "What are you doing here...?"

"I'm on protective detail." Sherry explained.

"Yeah." Leon responded back, looking at Jake, who looked completely unsociable at the moment. "I heard you became an agent."

"Why are you here, Leon?" Sherry asked, before he then turned his attention to Richard and Reisen. "And who are these two...? They seem like that they're acquainted with the survivors that were following us for the entire time."

"I'm-" Leon was about to say, before Richard stopped him with a raise of his hand.

"I'll tell you why. Dear Old Chief Security Advisor Simmons has ran to China to shirk the consequences of his actions." Richard darkly responded back. "I'm merely here to make sure that he doesn't slip under notice once again. Once we're through with him, he will pay the price for his actions in supporting the C-Virus and its immoral experiments. Killing him would be a damn bonus at this point."

"What...!? There must have been some sort of mistake. I report to Simmons-" Sherry was about to say, before Richard's expression turned to rage.

"What. Did you just say...?" Richard spat out with a twisted snarl on his face, which frightened Sherry, and caused Jake to glare at Richard, as the latter merely sucked in his breath. "Alright. Since we lack context on this problem, I'll give you the moment to explain yourself, why exactly you're WORKING with that fucker."

"We're not sure either." Gus answered back. "We just knew that Simmons was their superior, nothing else. How did you get to meet them, Kaz?"

"It's a fine thing that you're fine, Grant. But right now, I don't exactly trust you and Ling in the hands of these two. Especially when they're working with the fucker who is responsible for the death of more than half of our company." Richard spat back, before he turned back to Sherry and Jake. "Well then, here's the better question, where the FUCK are you meeting him...? Answer me or not, I won't try anything stupid, since you've managed to get my friends back here. But if you're going to refuse, you better have a damn good reason, one far better than mere naivety."

Jake merely looked away, as Sherry shook her head gently. Richard then turned to Gus and Meiling, who merely shook their heads as well.

"We have no clue either." Gus answered back. "Sherry never told us the approximate location of the rendezvous, because they don't trust us fully yet."

"That's fine." Richard responded back, before he then turned back to Sherry and Jake, as he snarled. "Alright then, let's have you consider this. You think Simmons is a fucking saint? He literally fucking nuked Tall Oaks, the town where all of this started for us, to cover all evidence of the fact he orchestrated the president's death. Do you know that the president is dead, or do you not care about that damn news? Either way, that bastard has been pulling wool over the eyes of those influential to his plans. You think that he's rendezvousing to rescue you? Fuck that, he's going to have you silenced before you even get the chance to know the truth. I could care less for you two, but if you drag my own friends into a death-trap, you are most definitely going to pay for it."

"Alright, that does it-" Jake was about to fume, before he was then pinned down by Meiling. "Hey, what the hell are you doing...!?"

"Jake, calm down. Kaz may be a little enraged at the moment, but he is not trying anything stupid at the moment." Meiling placated Jake, before turning to Richard. "And Kaz... If this is all true, then we're willing to believe that. But right now, if Sherry won't open up with the location of the rendezvous, there is nothing you can do to force her. She has her own reasons to trusting Simmons."

"And I say that it's going to be her doom." Richard scoffed back. "Fine. I'm willing to let us talk about this a little more."

"We are not talking about this. Our orders were to make no contact with anyone. Your friends were merely coincidences, as they helped us out, since we're helping them out in return as well." Jake responded back.

"But Leon is not just anyone, Jake. He saved my life back in Raccoon City." Sherry reasoned.

"And I'm sure that given time, we'll be able to know the truth about Simmons in time, and confirm it." Gus offered as well.

"...Fair enough." Jake conceded, as Richard merely nodded slowly in return.

Suddenly, Helena saw that one of the detached engines of the airplane was flying towards Sherry and Meiling. "Look out!" She shouted loudly.

Sherry then turned around to look at what was coming her way, as Leon immediately moved to get Sherry down on the ground, before Jake tackled her first, as the detached engine flew over them, and the others immediately ducked down to avoid the engine from hitting them, as it struck the ground behind them and exploded. They immediately got back up, looking for where the attack came from.

"The fuck...!?" Richard exclaimed. "Who the hell tries to kill someone with a goddamn airplane turbine engine!?"

"Look! Up there!" Gus pointed, as everyone turned to look where he was pointing.

On top of the airplane wreck was a tall and muscular creature with extremely pale skin and a few remnants of long, wispy white-blonde hair. Its body is covered with deep gashes and there is evidence of surgical enhancements. Its face is horribly distorted and twisted, skin overlapping and stapled down in sections. Only one eye is visible, set deep in its skull with the eyebrow ridge hanging over it and its mouth is left agape with only the lower part of the jaws. It also had its right arm grafted with a metallic replacement, as it had a extendable claw attached to it. It then let out a guttural roar.

"Him again!?" Jake groaned.

"Friend of yours?" Leon asked Jake.

"More like an ex-girlfriend." Jake joked. "Guy doesn't know when to quit. I don't know who that ass-hole is, but I'll tell you this now, all of you. This guy has been hunting us for the past few months, and the damn reason we were locked in a facility, before we managed to escape with a few friends of our own."

The monstrous hunter immediately slammed down on the ground, as it slowly approached the group, who immediately put their weapons up.

"Welcome to the club." Leon remarked.

"I don't care if this fucker is nigh-indestructible, if he's going to get in our way, we're tearing through this fucker!" Richard roared.

"Watch out for his arm!" Sherry warned everyone, as the hunter immediately roared, as it charged towards the group, with claw raised.

The survivors immediately fired at the hulking monstrosity, although their shots did little to nothing against it, as it charged unimpeded, and without a single motion of flinching.

"Damn... This thing has a lot of natural armour to be able to shrug off hits like these..." Gus cursed under his breath.

Reisen then looked around for anything that could be of use, before she then found some crates that was filled with gas canisters, which were on top of several spots in the maze of shipping crates around them. She immediately used her enhanced physique to hop up and catch herself on one of the ledges, before pulling herself up. With a swift kick, she slammed the crate of canisters over the edge, as the separate canisters rolled themselves to cover a decent area.

"Get it over here, then trigger the explosion with a single shot. Hopefully, this should be able to have some effect on this relentless pursuer of ours." Reisen advised everyone.

"Understood." Helena stated, as she shot the gas canisters just as the hunter was passing over them, as they exploded in a plume of fire, that seemed to stun the hunter temporarily. Richard immediately smirked, before he then rushed up to the dazed hunter, and pulling out his knife.

"Eat knife, bastard!" Richard exclaimed, as he immediately plunged the knife into the hunter's body with full force quickly, although with each stab, no blood came out of the wounds, leaving the young 'mercenary' stunned. "What the...!?"

Before he could react to it, he was immediately grabbed by the monster, inside of its metallic claw, as the metal prongs stabbed into his skin and organs tightly, causing him to struggle in its grip. "Damn you! Get off me!" He shouted, as he tried his best to wriggle out of the grasp of the metal claw.

The others immediately tried their best to aim for the hunter's arm, in a attempt to disable the metal claw and rescue Richard, although it still had no effect at all, as the hunter charged right towards them again, this time with Richard in tow within its claw.

Reisen immediately kicked another set of canisters down onto the ground again, in the path of the moving mutant hulk, before she quickly set it off with a round from her side-arm, as it caused the hunter to immediately release its claw off Richard, as he immediately fell to the ground and rolled across the ground to extinguish the fires that was on him from the explosion. He immediately got up, before patting himself down.

"Geez, thanks... But next time, find a way that DOESN'T involve blowing me up with the Hoax Hulk here!" Richard shouted back to Reisen.

Within a few moments, it recovered again, as it threw its claw forward, attempting to snatch one of the survivors from far away. However, they were quick and reactive enough to avoid the claw, as it immediately retracted back into the arm of the hunter, as it growled as if in frustration.

"Take it from us. This guy's indestructible. Let's get the hell outta here." Jake suggested, before pointing towards a large fence, which seemed to lead out of the area.

"I would have to agree on you with that. If these kinds of explosions can only faze it... Then we are way out of our league here." Gus stated.

The survivors immediately made their way to the large metal fence, as Leon jumped on top of it, while Sherry was boosted up by Jake. However, while their backs were turned, the hunter came back on top of a shipping crate, this time with a chain-gun in place of its claw, as it aimed at the group, which Meiling noticed.

"Look out!" Meiling shouted, as everyone noticed the hunter, although a little too late for Sherry and Leon, as it fired on them, causing them to fall backwards over the fence.

"Crap...! Now it decides to stop playing around...!?" Richard exclaimed, before he raised his assault rifle. "Alright, you want a damn fight, you pale-faced freak? Come and get it!"

Richard immediately fired at the hunter's head, causing it to turn its attention to him, as it immediately dropped down to the ground, and fired at the group, who moved out of its line of fire. The others baited the monster into stepping into clusters of gas canisters, igniting each and every one of them, hoping that it would eventually either tire out the relentless monster enough for them to escape safely, or even injure it enough to stop it from attacking them for a moment. However, the hunter kept on firing at them without mercy.

The hunter immediately stomped towards the group, while continuing to fire its chain-gun at them, before it was immediately slammed from behind by a barely-functioning bus that was being driven by Sherry, which continued along the way until it slammed the mutant right into the side of the downed plane, as it slightly lifted itself off the ground, before landing back down from the impact. Sherry immediately dodge-rolled out of the crashed vehicle, while Leon appeared from behind, seemingly after the bus.

The survivors held their breath, hoping that it would be enough to take down the hunter, however, when they saw the bus being lifted off the ground, and the hunter coming out from in front of it, they immediately prepared for the fight to continue.

"How is he still standing!?" Helena exclaimed.

"Don't get me started! But maybe with all of us here, we can stop him once and for all!" Sherry suggested.

"Damn right we can. That thing will eventually drop dead with how much lead we're putting into it, and nothing short of full regeneration is going to fix what we're going to deal to it." Richard growled.

The survivors immediately continued to bait the hunter around, as it immediately grabbed a spare metal claw from a nearby crate, ripping the chain-gun attachment on its metal prosthesis joint, and then slamming the claw right on, as it twitched and curled as it connected with the biological terror. However, with them aware of the dangers that the grappling device had, they managed to stay in a far enough distance and a proper position to avoid getting themselves grabbed for the time being.

After managing to hit it with enough gas explosions to bring down an entire building with the force accumulated, the hunter began to slow down, as it stopped in the middle of the field. Suddenly, one of the metal signal towers, which was damaged from the plane crash, began to creak and whine, as it fell towards the monster, and right towards the survivors that were in front of it.

"DODGE!" Gus shouted to everyone, as the two groups immediately rolled in separate directions, as the flaming metal tower slammed down, creating a impassable barrier between the two groups.

"Sherry!" Leon called out, as he approached the fallen signal tower, hoping that his colleague was safe.

"Leon!" Sherry shouted back. "We're going to be heading to the Kwun Long Building over in Koocheng! That's where I'm meeting with Simmons!"

"Finally...! An answer to where to find that slithering fucker!" Richard shouted with outrage.

"Sherry, listen! Until we get there, I need you to-" Leon was about to say, before he was immediately forced down by Richard, as several parts of the fallen signal tower exploded, sending molten metal pieces towards where they were standing.

"Don't think its a good idea to stay here anymore...!" Richard stated. "Come on, let's get the hell out, before something bad happens!"

"Are they going to be alright...?' Helena asked.

"Ling and Grant may not look the part, but they are fairly competent as our comrades. Your friends will be safe in their assistance, Leon." Reisen assured Leon.

"I hope that's the case. And not to mention that this Jake kid better be as good as he thinks he is." Leon nodded back. "Alright, let's go."

The group immediately turned back, as they made their way to one of the metal gates that would lead them into the city streets, as Leon and Helena received a call from Hunnigan.

"Leon, Helena. Do you read me?" Hunnigan called out.

"Hunnigan?" Leon asked, as they got in front of the gate, as he and Richard stacked up against the doors, preparing to open it. "I read."

"You went dark after the plane went down. I linked in a minute ago, but you weren't picking me up." Hunnigan responded back. "Listen, the building Agent Birkin mentioned isn't far off. Just stick to your current route, ok? Also, about what I heard..."

"I got it. And don't worry. I'm sure that the situation is under control." Leon stated, before he turned the comms off, and then turning to Richard. "Alright, Kaz. I got a question to ask. You plan to kill Simmons, right?"

"If you're asking me to spare him, that's fine. So long as he rots in prison, in utter solidarity for his entire life, that's a acceptable substitute of him dying for his sins." Richard answered back. "But first, we make sure that we have him cornered with no way out. No counter-proof, no contingencies. Until that's done, I won't guarantee the fact that he'll be alive long enough to be judged for his crimes."

"What about you, Mira...?" Leon asked Reisen, who merely shook her head.

"I care not for the fate of Simmons, so long as his ambitions are unrealised and ruined beyond recovery." Reisen tersely answered back.

"I see. Then I'll admit that I'm glad that you're willing to compromise on this then. Alright, we need to catch Simmons ASAP." Leon said, before they slammed the metal doors open, to head for where the rendezvous with Simmons was.


	9. Jake Chapter 3

Unmei Force: Infection

Jake Chapter 3: Battle Against the BOWs

* * *

The group immediately entered the area, where they found that the area had many crates stacked around the area in storage, along with several scattered parts of the airplane's cargo. They could see the flaming wreck of the airplane that crashed in the area, and they then saw that Leon, Helena, Richard and Reisen were making their way around the area, unaware of the presence of the other group. Richard was muttering curses under his breath, clutching his bandaged head in pain, with Reisen supporting him.

"...Kaz...? Mira...?" Gus exclaimed.

"Is that... Leon!?" Sherry exclaimed as well, as the both of them rush towards the group. Jake merely grumbles in protest under his breath, before he then follows Sherry and Gus with Meiling.

At this point, Leon's group heard the other survivors coming towards them, turning their attention to them.

"Sherry...?" Leon asked. "What are you doing here...?"

"I'm on protective detail." Sherry explained.

"Yeah." Leon responded back, looking at Jake, who looked completely unsociable at the moment. "I heard you became an agent."

"Why are you here, Leon?" Sherry asked, before he then turned his attention to Richard and Reisen. "And who are these two...? They seem like that they're acquainted with the survivors that were following us for the entire time."

"I'm-" Leon was about to say, before Richard stopped him with a raise of his hand.

"I'll tell you why. Dear Old Chief Security Advisor Simmons has ran to China to shirk the consequences of his actions." Richard darkly responded back. "I'm merely here to make sure that he doesn't slip under notice once again. Once we're through with him, he will pay the price for his actions in supporting the C-Virus and its immoral experiments. Killing him would be a damn bonus at this point."

"What...!? There must have been some sort of mistake. I report to Simmons-" Sherry was about to say, before Richard's expression turned to rage.

"What. Did you just say...?" Richard spat out with a twisted snarl on his face, which frightened Sherry, and caused Jake to glare at Richard, as the latter merely sucked in his breath. "Alright. Since we lack context on this problem, I'll give you the moment to explain yourself, why exactly you're WORKING with that fucker."

"We're not sure either." Gus answered back. "We just knew that Simmons was their superior, nothing else. How did you get to meet them, Kaz?"

"It's a fine thing that you're fine, Grant. But right now, I don't exactly trust you and Ling in the hands of these two. Especially when they're working with the fucker who is responsible for the death of more than half of our company." Richard spat back, before he turned back to Sherry and Jake. "Well then, here's the better question, where the FUCK are you meeting him...? Answer me or not, I won't try anything stupid, since you've managed to get my friends back here. But if you're going to refuse, you better have a damn good reason, one far better than mere naivety."

Jake merely looked away, as Sherry shook her head gently. Richard then turned to Gus and Meiling, who merely shook their heads as well.

"We have no clue either." Gus answered back. "Sherry never told us the approximate location of the rendezvous, because they don't trust us fully yet."

"That's fine." Richard responded back, before he then turned back to Sherry and Jake, as he snarled. "Alright then, let's have you consider this. You think Simmons is a fucking saint? He literally fucking nuked Tall Oaks, the town where all of this started for us, to cover all evidence of the fact he orchestrated the president's death. Do you know that the president is dead, or do you not care about that damn news? Either way, that bastard has been pulling wool over the eyes of those influential to his plans. You think that he's rendezvousing to rescue you? Fuck that, he's going to have you silenced before you even get the chance to know the truth. I could care less for you two, but if you drag my own friends into a death-trap, you are most definitely going to pay for it."

"Alright, that does it-" Jake was about to fume, before he was then pinned down by Meiling. "Hey, what the hell are you doing...!?"

"Jake, calm down. Kaz may be a little enraged at the moment, but he is not trying anything stupid at the moment." Meiling placated Jake, before turning to Richard. "And Kaz... If this is all true, then we're willing to believe that. But right now, if Sherry won't open up with the location of the rendezvous, there is nothing you can do to force her. She has her own reasons to trusting Simmons."

"And I say that it's going to be her doom." Richard scoffed back. "Fine. I'm willing to let us talk about this a little more."

"We are not talking about this. Our orders were to make no contact with anyone. Your friends were merely coincidences, as they helped us out, since we're helping them out in return as well." Jake responded back.

"But Leon is not just anyone, Jake. He saved my life back in Raccoon City." Sherry reasoned.

"And I'm sure that given time, we'll be able to know the truth about Simmons in time, and confirm it." Gus offered as well.

"...Fair enough." Jake conceded, as Richard merely nodded slowly in return.

Suddenly, Helena saw that one of the detached engines of the airplane was flying towards Sherry and Meiling. "Look out!" She shouted loudly.

Sherry then turned around to look at what was coming her way, as Leon immediately moved to get Sherry down on the ground, before Jake tackled her first, as the detached engine flew over them, and the others immediately ducked down to avoid the engine from hitting them, as it struck the ground behind them and exploded. They immediately got back up, looking for where the attack came from.

"The fuck...!?" Richard exclaimed. "Who the hell tries to kill someone with a goddamn airplane turbine engine!?"

"Look! Up there!" Gus pointed, as everyone turned to look where he was pointing.

On top of the airplane wreck was a tall and muscular creature with extremely pale skin and a few remnants of long, wispy white-blonde hair. Its body is covered with deep gashes and there is evidence of surgical enhancements. Its face is horribly distorted and twisted, skin overlapping and stapled down in sections. Only one eye is visible, set deep in its skull with the eyebrow ridge hanging over it and its mouth is left agape with only the lower part of the jaws. It also had its right arm grafted with a metallic replacement, as it had a chaingun attached to it. It then let out a guttural roar.

"Him again!?" Jake groaned.

"Friend of yours?" Leon asked Jake.

"More like an ex-girlfriend." Jake joked. "Guy doesn't know when to quit. I don't know who that ass-hole is, but I'll tell you this now, all of you. This guy has been hunting us for the past few months, and the damn reason we were locked in a facility, before we managed to escape with a few friends of our own."

The monstrous hunter immediately slammed down on the ground, as it slowly approached the group, who immediately put their weapons up.

"Welcome to the club." Leon remarked.

"I don't care if this fucker is nigh-indestructible, if he's going to get in our way, we're tearing through this fucker!" Richard roared.

"Watch out for his arm!" Sherry warned everyone, as the hunter immediately roared, raising its metal claw menacingly.

The survivors immediately fired at the hulking monstrosity, although their shots did little to nothing against it, as it charged unimpeded, and without a single motion of flinching.

"Damn... This thing has a lot of natural armour to be able to shrug off hits like these..." Gus cursed under his breath.

Reisen then looked around for anything that could be of use, before she then found some crates that was filled with gas canisters, which were on top of several spots in the maze of shipping crates around them. She immediately used her enhanced physique to hop up and catch herself on one of the ledges, before pulling herself up. With a swift kick, she slammed the crate of canisters over the edge, as the separate canisters rolled themselves to cover a decent area.

"Get it over here, then trigger the explosion with a single shot. Hopefully, this should be able to have some effect on this relentless pursuer of ours." Reisen advised everyone.

"Understood." Helena stated, as she shot the gas canisters just as the hunter was passing over them, as they exploded in a plume of fire, that seemed to stun the hunter temporarily. Richard immediately smirked, before he then rushed up to the dazed hunter, and pulling out his knife.

"Eat knife, bastard!" Richard exclaimed, as he immediately plunged the knife into the hunter's body with full force quickly, although with each stab, no blood came out of the wounds, leaving the young 'mercenary' stunned. "What the...!?"

Before he could react to it, he was immediately grabbed by the monster, inside of its metallic claw, as the metal prongs stabbed into his skin and organs tightly, causing him to struggle in its grip. "Damn you! Get off me!" He shouted, as he tried his best to wriggle out of the grasp of the metal claw.

The others immediately tried their best to aim for the hunter's arm, in a attempt to disable the metal claw and rescue Richard, although it still had no effect at all, as the hunter charged right towards them again, this time with Richard in tow within its claw.

Reisen immediately kicked another set of canisters down onto the ground again, in the path of the moving mutant hulk, before she quickly set it off with a round from her side-arm, as it caused the hunter to immediately release its claw off Richard, as he immediately fell to the ground and rolled across the ground to extinguish the fires that was on him from the explosion. He immediately got up, before patting himself down.

"Geez, thanks... But next time, find a way that DOESN'T involve blowing me up with the Hoax Hulk here!" Richard shouted back to Reisen.

Within a few moments, it recovered again, as it threw its claw forward, attempting to snatch one of the survivors from far away. However, they were quick and reactive enough to avoid the claw, as it immediately retracted back into the arm of the hunter, as it growled as if in frustration.

"Take it from us. This guy's indestructible. Let's get the hell outta here." Jake suggested, before pointing towards a large fence, which seemed to lead out of the area.

"I would have to agree on you with that. If these kinds of explosions can only faze it... Then we are way out of our league here." Gus stated.

The survivors immediately made their way to the large metal fence, as Leon jumped on top of it, while Sherry was boosted up by Jake. However, while their backs were turned, the hunter came back on top of a shipping crate, this time with a chain-gun in place of its claw, as it aimed at the group, which Meiling noticed.

"Look out!" Meiling shouted, as everyone noticed the hunter, although a little too late for Sherry and Leon, as it fired on them, causing them to fall backwards over the fence.

"Crap...! Now it decides to stop playing around...!?" Richard exclaimed, before he raised his assault rifle. "Alright, you want a damn fight, you pale-faced freak? Come and get it!"

Richard immediately fired at the hunter's head, causing it to turn its attention to him, as it immediately dropped down to the ground, and fired at the group, who moved out of its line of fire. The others baited the monster into stepping into clusters of gas canisters, igniting each and every one of them, hoping that it would eventually either tire out the relentless monster enough for them to escape safely, or even injure it enough to stop it from attacking them for a moment. However, the hunter kept on firing at them without mercy.

The hunter immediately stomped towards the group, while continuing to fire its chain-gun at them, before it was immediately slammed from behind by a barely-functioning bus that was being driven by Sherry, which continued along the way until it slammed the mutant right into the side of the downed plane, as it slightly lifted itself off the ground, before landing back down from the impact. Sherry immediately dodge-rolled out of the crashed vehicle, while Leon appeared from behind, seemingly after the bus.

The survivors held their breath, hoping that it would be enough to take down the hunter, however, when they saw the bus being lifted off the ground, and the hunter coming out from in front of it, they immediately prepared for the fight to continue.

"How is he still standing!?" Helena exclaimed.

"Don't get me started! But maybe with all of us here, we can stop him once and for all!" Sherry suggested.

"Damn right we can. That thing will eventually drop dead with how much lead we're putting into it, and nothing short of full regeneration is going to fix what we're going to deal to it." Richard growled.

The survivors immediately continued to bait the hunter around, as it immediately grabbed a spare metal claw from a nearby crate, ripping the chain-gun attachment on its metal prosthesis joint, and then slamming the claw right on, as it twitched and curled as it connected with the biological terror. However, with them aware of the dangers that the grappling device had, they managed to stay in a far enough distance and a proper position to avoid getting themselves grabbed for the time being.

After managing to hit it with enough gas explosions to bring down an entire building with the force accumulated, the hunter began to slow down, as it stopped in the middle of the field. Suddenly, one of the metal signal towers, which was damaged from the plane crash, began to creak and whine, as it fell towards the monster, and right towards the survivors that were in front of it.

"DODGE!" Gus shouted to everyone, as the two groups immediately rolled in separate directions, as the flaming metal tower slammed down, creating a impassable barrier between the two groups.

"Sherry!" Leon called out, as he approached the fallen signal tower, hoping that his colleague was safe.

"Leon!" Sherry shouted back. "We're going to be heading to the Kwun Long Building over in Koocheng! That's where I'm meeting with Simmons!"

"Sherry, listen! Until we get there, I need you to-" Leon was about to say, before several parts of the fallen signal tower exploded, sending molten metal pieces towards where they were standing, causing Jake, Sherry, Gus and Meiling to recoil back.

Sherry immediately looked back at the burning signal tower, as her eyes showed concern for Leon on the other side, before Jake walked up to her to snap her out of her trance. "Hey! If he is half the man you say he is, he'll be fine, OK?" He stated.

"Besides, Kaz and Mira are the most experienced members of our own company." Gus stated. "I'm sure that he'll ensure that we all make it out of here alive."

"...You're right. We should hurry." Sherry nodded, before she turned away from the burning signal tower, although some of her worry still lied within her eyes.

The four immediately searched around the area for any way out of the enclosed area, before managing to find a hatch that led them down into a series of sewer maintenance rooms, before they made their way right at the edge of a large river, which had the ruins of boats in the water, some piles of wood and metal, and other burning wrecks.

"Koocheng is up ahead, at the mouth of the river." Sherry stated.

"All right. Come on." Jake stated, as he immediately jogged towards a motorised platform with steering wheel and rudder, with Gus and Meiling following after him. However, when he saw that Sherry wasn't catching up to him, instead slowly wandering around, he immediately walked back to Sherry.

"You're worried about Simmons, right? What Leon and that guy Kaz said about him?" Jake asked Sherry, to which she nodded gently in response. "You're going to be fine, OK? If he turns out to be like what they said about him, at least you have us by your side."

"And I doubt that Kaz would be wrong on this..." Meiling stated. "He's rarely led us in the wrong direction with things like this. Either way, we better be a bit more careful about what this 'Simmons' is planning to do, and what he wants."

Sherry immediately grunted, before she and Jake immediately moved towards the boat, before they heard the sound of metal grinding, causing them to turn back, and see another one of the saw-armed mutants, like the one they met at the streets which was killed by Meiling before, cut through a metal sign and jump down towards them.

"Let's go!" Jake shouted, as Gus immediately took the steering wheel, while Meiling readied herself to pull the motor's ignition cord. He immediately grabbed Sherry by the hand, before dragging her to the boat. When they got onto the boat, Meiling immediately tugged the ignition cord as hard and quickly as she could, before a gun-shot rang out, as the monster that was chasing after them staggered and fell to the ground, temporarily defeated.

"Who was that...?" Gus pondered, as Meiling finally turned the motor engine on, as it hummed to life, causing the small wooden raft to move through the river. As they did, the monster immediately got up, before it roared and left their sight for the moment.

Gus immediately manuevered the boat through the flames and debris in the river, as unmanned boats capsized themselves in the water in front of them, before they reached the room of a mostly-submerged restaurant boat, which seemed severely damaged. The group immediately disembarked from their boat, which couldn't take them further from its path ahead being blocked, before they were ambushed by the monster, which cut its way through one of the windows.

"He's back! This prick won't give up!" Jake exclaimed, as several more zombies dropped down, including some J'avo.

The group immediately used the limited space they had to take care of the zombies, as Meiling kicked one of the zombies that came too close to her right into the river, as it struggled on the surface, before drowning underneath. Jake also took care of a few of them, as he used a shotgun to blast large parts of the zombies with each shot he did, as Gus fired round after round with his magnum, hoping to take out the saw-wielding mutant that was chasing after them.

Eventually, Gus managed to cause it to back towards a sparking neon restaurant sign, before he took the opportunity to rush it, and slam it with a forward round-house kick before it could recover from its daze, sending it flying right into the sign, electrocuting it severely, as it groaned, staggering forward while spasming, and falling right into the water, not rising to the surface at all.

Gus then heard the sign creaking, as he dodged to the side, to avoid getting crushed under the falling sign, as it slammed right into the waters in front of them, giving them access to another motorised raft that they could use to continue their journey.

"I think he's dead." Sherry stated.

"Let's hope it sticks." Jake responded back, as the four of them boarded the boat, with Jake igniting the motor engine.

Sherry noticed that there was a red light that was running under the water, as it bobbed around the boat itself, before disappearing.

"I just saw some sort of light or something in the water." Sherry informed everyone. "What could it be?"

"Nothing good. I can expect that." Meiling answered back. "If there is something in the river, then it would of best interest to get out of it quickly."

As they moved the boat through the rest of the river, the red light appeared at several times, before it then circled around the boat when they were almost out of the river. When they stopped for a moment, hitting the edge of a large wooden capsized boat, the light was revealed to be the mutated zombie, that jumped out and attacked the group again.

"Oh, come on! Really!?" Jake exclaimed with outrage. "How much does it takes to bring this guy down!? Screw it, everyone hit it with everything we got! We're driving him off our boat one way or another!"

The group immediately fired their weapons in unison, as the combined fire managed to tear through the monster and send it moving back onto the wooden boat, as it screamed in agony. Suddenly, from above, there was the sound of metal chains snapping, as a bundle of steel bars fell from the above, crashing into the wooden boat and destroying it completely, as well as sending the mutant back down into the water. Their boat began to move again, as it managed to reach the other side without difficulty.

"What the hell was that...?" Jake stated, before he shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter. This has to be the worst boat ride since the Titanic here."

Jake then hopped off the boat, followed by Gus and Meiling, as Jake prepared to bring Sherry up to the other side. However, as they did, the monster sprung out of the water once again, as it slammed down on the boat, causing it to drift towards a broken helicopter, whose rotor blades were still spinning at full velocity, making it a death trap for both Sherry and the monster.

"Shit! SHERRY!" Jake exclaimed. "Get off the boat! We'll cover you!"

The three of them immediately fired at the monster, hoping to weaken it enough for Sherry to escape, although their efforts weren't good enough at the range that they were. Sherry evaded the monster's brutal swings and swipes, waiting for the opening to get away at. However, while she was doing so, she noticed a figure swooping down onto the boat, from a grappling gun, before she was caught by them, taking her off the boat into the air. The boat immediately slammed right into the helicopter, as the monster was dragged into the heli blades, as it was torn into pieces completely with a guttural death cry.

The figure then swung back with Sherry in their arms, before it dropped them right into Jake's arms, as he caught her, laid her down on the ground, and turned to face the figure, hoping to see who it was. Gus and Meiling silently watched the figure leave their sight, as Sherry got up, before receiving a call from her phone, which she immediately picked up.

"Yes?" Sherry asked, before she waited for the reply. "Almost... All right, we'll be there as soon as we can."

She then hung up the call, as Jake turned to her. "Boss still keeping tabs on you, huh?" He remarked.

Sherry nodded back after a moment of pause. "...For now." She replied back.

They immediately made their way to the building where the rendezvous was, as they stood right the doors to it, as Sherry moved her hand on the door handle, before she pulled it back, having second thoughts.

"If Leon... and Kaz, was right about Simmons..." Sherry stated, turning around to Jake. "I want you to run, Jake."

Jake merely scoffed, as Sherry gave him a harsh glare. "No matter what happens."

Jake turned his head away, as Sherry stepped forward to get closer to him. "Promise me, Jake. Please."

"...Fine." Jake muttered back with a conflicted expression, before turning to Gus and Meiling. "I guess that you two are still going to be with us for the time being, right? You fine with getting shot at?"

"We'll be able to handle it." Gus nodded back. "What's more important is that we'll cover your retreat if possible."

"SIMMONS!" Richard's furious cry could be heard muffled on the other side of the doors, attracting the attention of the four survivors, as they burst through the door.

They found themselves seeing Leon, Richard, Reisen, Helena standing off against Simmons and his bodyguards, who were equipped with sub-machine guns. Sherry immediately rushed in shouting "No, Wait!"

"Ah, Agent Birkin." Simmons stated. "Impeccable timing. Kindly take these two into custody, won't you? Do as you wish with the two mercenaries with them."

"Don't you fucking dare!" Richard shouted, flicking his eyes towards Sherry. "If you try to even point your gun at me, I'll point mien right back at YOU!"

"Calm down, Kaz!" Gus responded back. "She won't be like that!"

"They said that you were involved in the terrorist attack. Is it true?" Sherry asked frantically.

"What, are they running down the streets, screaming it to anyone who'll listen!?" Simmons hissed back.

"FUCK OFF! Anyone who has a damn brain inside their head would be smart enough to figure out what you have done, you fucking psychopath!" Richard shouted back with anger.

"Answer me!" Sherry demanded.

Simmons remained silent for a few moments, before he then sighed deeply. "It's for the benefit of the United States and global security." He stated, before a sniper shot whizzed past his face, creating a small gash that surprised him.

"You are a pathetic liar, Derek Simmons." Reisen coldly responded back. "Killing off the president of the United States is high treason, and an act of defiance to world peace and equality. You are merely a opportunistic back-stabber and megalomaniac. You are unfit to bother justifying your actions."

Sherry looked at Reisen with shock, as Gus was stunned as well, before she turned back to Simmons. "The president's dead...?" She asked with disbelief.

"Well, we have Leon to thank for that." Simmons scoffed.

"Goddamn you, Simmons!" Helena growled.

"Dispose of them." Simmons grunted, as the body-guards immediately opened fire, causing all of them immediately run for cover, as Jake grabbed Sherry by the waist, and lunged behind one of the wider columns in the wall, as the others took up positions behind their respective pillars.

"Hold your fire!" Simmons ordered, as the body-guards did so, as he pointed where Jake and Sherry hid themselves. "These two are still of use to us-"

"SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT, ASSHOLE!" Richard shouted, as he and Reisen shifted out of cover, and fired at the body-guards and Simmons, causing the Chief Advisor to immediately retreat back, as several of his body-guards was killed in the retaliatory fire, before they opened fire again.

As the gun-fire rained down upon them, with Richard, Reisen, Gus and Meiling firing back to suppress the numerous body-guards ahead of them, Leon, Helena, Sherry and Jake immediately gathered together in a place safe from the firefight occurring right now.

"You need to be more careful." Leon told Sherry.

"All right, all right. So what's the plan, hero?" Jake asked.

"You think you can make it to that door?" Leon asked, signalling towards one of the far doors in the building. "With our friends attracting their attention mostly, it should be relatively safe to get there quickly."

"Why don't we just waste them? Your friends, Grant and Ling are doing a fairly good job at it!" Jake retorted back, as he looked at how the four of them were cutting through the numbers of body-guards that were guarding Simmons.

"Because I need you to take care of Sherry, in case something happens." Leon argued back.

"Then what are you two going to do?" Sherry asked.

"Finish Simmons. That's the only thing left for us." Helena stated with a vengeful expression.

Sherry was silent for a moment, before she then immediately pulled out the same data drive that they uploaded the virus data from the Neo-Umbrella facility onto. "There's information on here that could stop the C-Virus. Simmons wants it. Take it, Leon." Sherry stated, before handing it to Leon, who placed it in a secure place.

"Thanks." Leon stated, before he then immediately pulled out his side-arm, as Helena did the same. "I'll put a call in to FOS, get you some protection. Now move!"

Richard immediately turned to Gus, as Leon and Helena joined the fight, and Jake and Sherry made a mad sprint for the door on the other side of the building.

"Grant, Ling. Let us take care of this. You continue to help those two out! They're going to need some help where they're going!" Richard ordered Gus and Meiling.

"But what about you... Kaz!?" Gus shouted back.

"You know me better to misjudge these kinds of situations! GO! Before it's too late!" Richard shouted back.

Gus grunted back with a worried expression, before he immediately signalled for Meiling to follow after him, as they followed after Sherry and Jake, as they found them being attacked by many J'avo.

"Jake! Sherry! We're here to help you two out!" Gus shouted, as he used his magnum to take down several zombies on their side of the corridor, before getting to where the other pair of survivors were.

The four of them immediately covered each other's flanks, as they continued to take down J'avo, as they continued to move. However, Sherry was ambushed from a dark corner by another J'avo, as she was slammed right into the waiting arms of two J'avo, who immediately grabbed her tightly, dragging her away.

"Jake!" Sherry shouted, struggling to get free.

"Sherry!" Jake yelled back, before a J'avo managed to knock his gun from his hands, as it spun across the corridor. He growled, before using his bare fists to smash the J'avo, into the ground, dodging and weaving between attacks.

"I've got you, Sherry, just hold on-" Gus was about to say, before a J'avo rushed from behind him, letting out a foreign war-cry, and slamming Gus at the nape of his neck with the hilt of its machete, as the blow was hard enough to knock him out, allowing several J'avo to swarm him, and drag him away as well.

"Crap! This is not good!" Jake stated, before he was then swarmed by J'avo from all sides, as they bound his entire body together with their holds, dragging him away as well.

"Jake! Hold on!" Meiling stated, as she immediately used her martial arts to take out every single J'avo in her way, crashing them into the walls or floor with mighty force. However, just before she could reach Jake, she was suddenly hit by a dart on her body, as she pulled it out, and saw that it was some sort of sickly-green substance, and that her consciousness was beginning to lose itself.

"Crap... I have to-" Meiling was about to say, before she was immediately peppered all over with the tranquilliser darts, as the combined effect of the darts managed to floor her quickly, as she could barely maintain the consciousness to feel anything around her.

'_How... How unfitting of me..._' Meiling thought to herself, as she could barely feel herself being dragged up, presumably by J'avo. '_If I had been aware that my enemy was planning to capture me... I would have prevented myself from being sedated like this..._'

That was the last conscious thought that she had, as her vision turned to pitch blackness, and she couldn't feel and think at all.


	10. Chris Chapter 1

Unmei Force Infection

Chris Chapter 1: Seeking Answers

* * *

_In the city of Waiyip, long before the plane crash, and the facility escape..._

Chris merely watched as the Umbrella cleaner used their flamethrowers to burn all evidence of their misdeeds to ashes, burning dormant cocoons created from the biological virus, from above, without a single word. As the area was slowly engulfed in flames, he did not turn his eyes from the cleaners down below him.

As he did so, a man that was clad in the same uniform as Chris was, wearing a grey scarf around his neck, and looking far younger than the grizzled veteran that was Chris. When he approached, Chris shifted his eyes to him. "Piers..." He asked him. "What happened to Ada Wong?"

"You remember!" Piers exclaimed back, as he rushed up to Chris, although he stopped when he saw that Chris was eerily still. "Captain?"

"Where is she?" Chris continued to ask.

"She's leading Neo-Umbrella." Piers explained. "All these terrorists are-"

"Is she in this city or not!" Chris demanded impatiently, turning his head towards Piers with grit teeth.

"...She has been sighted several times since the attacks begun." Piers responded back. "Yeah, she's definitely here."

Chris immediately got up, before signalling Piers to follow him. "Tell the men we're moving out." Chris ordered Piers, who immediately did so.

As Chris immediately checked his own gear, his BSAA comrades dropped down on the ground below, before spreading out to search all corners and entrances for any possible threats. After preparing himself sufficiently, loading a full clip into his military-grade assault rifle, he immediately jumped down. "Damn you to hell, Wong. You did all of this for what...?" He growled under his breath.

When he rejoined his squad-mates, there was a sudden crashing sound in front of him, as well as rubble being slammed aside, alerting the one standing in front of it, as a large black serpent immediately slid out of the dust cloud, before clamping its jaws down on the soldier's right arm, causing him to scream and try to get his injured arm out of its mouth. The other soldiers immediately fired at the abnormal snake, as it wriggled and swung with the soldier clamped to its jaws, as it slithered back where it came from.

"Alpha to HQ! We encountered a hostile!" Chris shouted through his comms. "Piers! Marco! Everyone on me! We're going after that thing!"

The rest of the squad immediately complied, as Piers signalled them to follow. "You heard the man, people! Let's move!" He shouted to the rest of the squad.

The group immediately jogged their way through the streets, as they were deserted and silent, which got everyone on their nerves, and fully alert. As Chris and Piers pushed open a large gate in their way, they noticed the trail of fresh blood that ran past it, indicating that the snake and the abducted soldier have went the way that the blood trail was indicating.

They continued along the blood trail, before they found that it stopped right in front of a alleyway, that was blocked off by a large metal gate. However, there was a ladder that allowed them to get to a platform that allowed them to go over it. When Chris and Piers first moved over the gates, and opened the door at the end, they found several J'avo that were wandering in the small area, as they turned to their attention to the BSAA squad.

"Assume battle positions!" Chris barked out his order, as the squad immediately opened fire at the J'avo, tearing them down before they could get the chance to get in range to attack.

Chris and Piers immediately went up the ladder towards the rooftop of the building in front of them, as they find another ladder ahead of them on the rooftop, that seemed to take them higher. However, as Chris approached the ladder, they suddenly heard the sounds of muffled gun-fire, as Piers pinpointed it to be at the door at the top of the ladder.

"Looks like we got company coming our way. Friendly or hostile? What do you think, Chris?" Piers asked his partner.

"We won't know for sure unless we look." Chris stated, as he immediately started climbing the ladder. However, as he did so, several J'avo with mutated arms jumped down, as they went for Piers.

He immediately turned around and jumped down right behind one of the J'avo, before doing a round-house kick that sent the J'avo over the edge of the room, right towards where the rest of the BSAA squad was, as they tore it to pieces. Piers immediately swept with a low kick, flooring the J'avo he was facing, as he immediately fired his shot-gun point blank at the head of the mutated zombie, killing it.

The two immediately climbed the ladder up, while ordering the rest of the squad to follow them, as they pushed through the door, only to see that there were J'avo laying in wait in the room, hiding behind cover and holding various guns. The squad immediately shot their way through the building, as Chris and Piers covered their less experience squad-mates with precise fire, before they moved onto the next room, where they found more J'avo, as well as a mutated one, that was using its caterpillar like appendage on its body to strike the door to the next room, as it was securely shut for some reason.

"Sounds like someone is inside the other room." Piers stated. "And by the looks of it, they're the enemies of the J'avo for sure.'

Chris merely grunted, as he immediately threw a grenade right at the J'avo group, over the cover, as it managed to clear out several of the J'avo, and drive the rest into open field, where his squad efficiently took them down. As soon as the room was cleared, Chris immediately moved to the door, as he tried opening it, only for it to not budge at all, even when he resorted to shoulder-tackling it with full force.

"Let me handle this, Chris. Stand back." Piers stated, as he immediately laid a remote bomb at the foot of the door. When everyone was in safe distance from it, he immediately activated it, as it tore the door to shreds, as well as push the metal crates that were holding it shut.

As soon as they filed into the room, they were met by the sight of Marisa pointing a grenade launcher at them, as well as Sanae pointing her assault rifle at them. They seemed to be dressed in military uniform much alike the other members. They slightly recoiled at the sight of being threatened at gun-point, although Chris and Piers immediately raised their weapons in response.

"You know... You should have just said that you're not those damned zombies? You didn't blow the door off!" Marisa responded back with a miffed tone.

"And announce our presence to a potential ambush?" Piers retorted back, scoffing.

"A good point there. Who are you?" Sanae asked seriously.

"We're BSAA." Chris stated. "I am Chris Redfield, leader of Squad Alpha, and this is Piers Nivan, my second-in-command. We have been chasing a dangerous hostile that managed to take one of our men across the city. Did you manage to see anything related to it?"

"Nope. We just wandered our way through the city, trying to find where the hell we even are." Marisa responded back.

"How come?" Piers stated.

"Our ride in got crashed, we're the only survivors." Sanae explained back. "Right now, we're just trying to find our friends, so that we can find a way out of here. We've got enough firepower with us to handle ourselves for the while, but we're going to run out of ammunition at this rate."

"I see." Chris stated, as he lowered the weapon. "Are you mercenaries then?"

"Sort of." Marisa shrugged. "We're just simply trying to find out who's responsible for the damn mess and get rid of them. Sounds simple, but hard to do. If you're looking for the same thing, how about we work together for the time being. My name's Lisa, and the green-haired partner of mine is Sanae."

"It seems that we're getting nowhere if we don't." Piers remarked before he nodded. "Alright, we'll help each other out then, but don't expect too much help from us. If you go off, you're on your own."

"Don't worry. We'll keep with you guys. After all, the more the merrier, right?" Sanae tried to lighten up the mood.

"Fair enough. Come on, we need to keep moving." Chris stated, as they immediately exited the room, moving onto a large walkway outside, as everyone immediately spread out among the two sides, with Chris and Piers looking around for any clues to where their missing squad-mate went.

However, there was the sound of motorcycles sliding across the ground, before there was the sound of them exploding loudly, causing Chris and Piers to snap to cover immediately. After making sure that there was no more surprises, Chris immediately peered out, before seeing the flaming wrecks of two motorcycles, that collided with one of the walls.

Chris and Piers immediately moved out of cover, as they both wanted to get a better look at who were the ones that were using the now-wrecked motorcycles, only to be beaten by Marisa and Sanae, who rushed out with their weapons raised, before they immediately stopped, as their lowered their weapons, with surprised expressions.

"You got to be kidding me..." Marisa muttered with a scoff. "Talk about a quick encounter."

"Yeah..." Sanae nodded, before she then looked down, as they saw Gus, Meiling, Jake and Sherry trying to get their bearings back from crashing before. "That's them alright."

"They're alive! The two that were missing from Edonia 6 months ago!" Piers stated, as he came to take a look as well, with Chris behind him. "Still, I didn't know that they managed to pick up a few friends of their own along their way."

"Oi, didn't you hear us earlier... That's OUR friends there!" Marisa shouted at both of the BSAA operatives. "I don't care if it's your priority to help them or not, we're not leaving them behind!"

"I don't think we have a choice in the matter." Chris grunted back, as he immediately flicked his rifle towards the growing sound of helicopter blades swishing in the air, as the helicopter that was chasing Jake and his group came into view, as it was piloted by a J'avo, and several J'avo swarmed into the area.

"Neo-Umbrella's after them!" Piers exclaimed. "Captain!"

"Spread out! Take every one of those damned things down. That goes for the two of you as well." Chris commanded, looking towards Marisa and Sanae.

"Fine by me. You take care of the threats coming our way, and I'll get our friends some cover." Marisa nodded back, then turning to Sanae. "Sanae, help these men out, will you...?"

Sanae immediately stifled a moment, trying to keep herself from fangirling at the prospect of working side-by-side with Chris Redfield, and nodded back. "Yes, Lisa." She stated.

"Captain, it's Marco! That's an armoured chopper they've brought in!" One of the BSAA squad members reported through the comms.

"That rules out conventional arms." Piers stated.

"We need to protect those two down there first!" Marco continued.

"Roger that." Chris stated, before he immediately dropped down a few feet onto a platform in view, before firing his rifle at the J'avo from above, taking some of them out.

"Eat this, you rotten freaks!" Marisa swore at the J'avo, as she pelted the incoming waves of J'avo with propelled grenades, that managed to thin out their ranks significantly, allowing the four down on the ground to easily take care of the remaining enemies.

Sanae also fired her rifle into the J'avo, before she noticed that the chopper was locking onto her, causing her to immediately roll for cover, as it fired off a barrage of rounds onto the wall she was hiding behind. "Gods! Why is it after me, not the rest!?"

"Captain, Keaton here." Another of the BSAA soldiers said through the comms. "I can't reach those people down below. They're not responding back.

"What should we do?" Piers asked Chris.

"We wipe out the hostiles. After that, they're on their own." Chris stated, before turning to Sanae. "So if you want to get back to your friends right now, now's the time to do it."

"We'll consider it for the time being." Sanae responded back. "For now, let's just- Uh oh."

Sanae turned around to come face-to-face with a J'avo, whose legs are greatly mutated and distorted, almost like mantis legs, as it let out a string of Chinese swears, before immediately readying itself to fire.

"Oh no you don't!" Sanae exclaimed, as she immediately lit a grenade and threw it quickly while jumping back, as the grenade blew the J'avo to pieces from underneath, as more of them came towards them. "So I guess we've got our own problems to deal with now."

"I've never seen a mutation like that before." Chris stated, before activating his comms. "Reid, uplink a reading to HQ."

"Already on it, sir." Reid stated. "Careful, these suckers can really jump!"

"Don't let up! These assholes have killed enough for one day!" A squad member declared, as he immediately started attacking the J'avo that were honing towards them.

"I've got the guys below covered! I have more than enough grenades to thin their numbers long enough for you to get your part of the job done!" Marisa assured Chris and Piers.

The BSAA squad and Sanae immediately ascended through the stairs, taking out various J'avo who were trying to take them out, before Piers finished the last one with a round-house kick that sent it flying over the edge of the railing on the floor.

"That's the last one!" Piers shouted, before the helicopter immediately aimed at Jake's group and immediately fired missiles down, causing them to immediately dodge, while the copter immediately ascended higher up into the air.

"The chopper's pulling back!" One of the squadmates commented on the current situation, as Marisa immediately rejoined with the others.

"And other than that little nasty surprise, everything is done and dusted here." Marisa stated. "Still, if that things is still flying, I doubt it's good for both us and them."

"Yes, that'd be too easy. C'mon. Keep moving." Chris agreed.

"Captain, we should escort those four out of here. They'll never survive on their own." Piers stated.

"Oh, you'd be wrong on that." Marisa responded, drawing Pier's attention.

"Excuse me?" Piers asked back, slightly irritated by Marisa's words.

"That's Grant and Ling down there. They're known for fighting in various tough situations. Although it's best that we make things easier for them, don't be so pessimistic to say that they're going to die like this. Our friends aren't exactly pushovers, you see."

"Competent or not, these zombies are no laughing matter." Piers dryly responded back. "I'd advise that you don't overestimate yourselves over the zombies. They've got several surprises up their sleeves, and all of them are deadly in their own way."

"Say what you like, but I stand by what I said." Marisa grumbled, crossing her arms in a defiant gesture.

The team immediately ascended the building, as the squad-members breached through a rusted gate in their way with well-placed explosive charges and a good kick, before they reached the roof, and found that the chopper was waiting for them, immediately preparing to attack the squad.

"The chopper's back to finish the job!" One of the squad members exclaimed.

"HQ, come in! This is Alpha! The chopper is targeting us now!" Another squad member called out through the comms.

"Everyone! Bring that chopper down and bring it down hard!" Chris ordered his squad.

"I got just the thing for that." Marisa stated, before she immediately set down her military pack, and started pulling out weapon components. "But I need a while to piece it together. Trust me, it'll be worth the effort. So cover me until then, alright?"

"...Fine. You better not be exaggerating." Piers stated, before he immediately fired at the chopper's front, in order to attract its attention. "OI! OVER HERE!"

The squad immediately assaulted the helicopter, as their weapons did little effect to the chopper, while Chris, Piers and Sanae weren't faring better, even when Chris used a high-power cross-bow to try and pierce the armour of the helicopter.

Marisa was focusing herself entirely on piecing her weapon together, sliding parts onto each other, as she slowly built up a fairly small shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, which seemed to have a homing function prepared for it, from the large scoped display on the side. She immediately smiled, before she hopped up.

"It's done! Just get that thing to stay in front of me for the time being, and it'll be done in no time!" Marisa called out to the others.

"Problem is, we don't have anything that can even dent it, let alone slow it down as it is!" Piers shouted back.

Suddenly, from below, sniper shots sounded, as they struck the helicopter's rotor, slowing it down, and also what possibly could have been its fuel tank, evident from the fuel leaking from the puncture in the armoured chassis of the helicopter.

"...What the...?" Chris exclaimed.

"Well, looks like the guys down there are quite good themselves, or it might have been Grant himself taking the shots. Either way, that gives me the opportunity!" Marisa smirked, before she immediately activated the display, as the cross-hairs on it slowly closed in on the disabled copter. "Alright, time to knock a bird out of the sky, with REAL firepower!"

Suddenly, the cross-hairs fully closed in on the copter, as the shrill tone-lock alarm rang for Marisa, as she immediately fired off a large flying rocket that immediately sped towards the helicopter, before exploding into a magnificent plume of fire, that shredded the helicopter, causing the burning pieces to fall down, while Marisa grinned, pumping her fist down in success.

Chris immediately looked over the edge of the roof, as he found Jake's group staring up at them, with Jake particularly glaring back at him. As the others immediately moved over, Jake and Sherry immediately turned around and made their way to leave, leaving only Gus and Meiling below for a moment. Gus then immediately looked at Marisa and Sanae, before he immediately made the gesture of pointing at both Marisa and Sanae, then at Chris and his squad, before then nodding. After he made these gestures, Gus and Meiling then followed after Jake and Sherry, disappearing from view.

"I see... So that's how it is." Marisa muttered, interpreting Gus's gesture.

"Captain, we can't let them go!" Piers exclaimed to Chris.

"Our mission is to terminate the BOWs." Chris reminded Piers back with a firm tone.

"But, Neo-Umbrella is after them. Shouldn't we-" Piers stated with worry.

"I said, our mission is to terminate the BOWs." Chris repeated, with a much more forceful tone than before, before turning away.

Piers merely scoffed under his breath, before then looking back at Marisa and Sanae. "What did your friends just try to convey before?" He asked them with some curiosity.

"Oh, that? They were asking that we should remain split up for the time being. At least, that's what Grant is telling us what to do." Sanae explained back. "And I can sort of get what his logic is, for it. He thinks that you guys might be able to find some clues about the truth about all of this. If we help you guys out, you might lead us to something of great interest to us."

"And what qualifies as 'great interest' in our terms then?" Piers growled back with a distrustful expression.

"Oh, calm down. We may need money or fame, but our priority is ensuring that the world doesn't go up in flames. This surely qualifies as something that could lead to that." Marisa grumbled back. 'So don't get yourself tense, thinking we're going to backstab you eventually, when you get the juicy information, or find something very interesting. We don't know jack about all of this stuff, and I think that you're the expert on this subject, so we'll leave it to you and your captain to deal with linking the stuff together. We're just hired guns for the time being, seeking to make sure shit doesn't hit the fan, you understand?"

Piers remained silent for a moment, before he took a deep breath and then turned to follow Chris. "Fine, I'll take your word for it. But unless you prove otherwise, I'm still keeping an eye on you two, and so is the captain." Piers warned them.

Marisa nodded, before they all passed through a wooden bridge linking the rooftops into one of the taller buildings, as they entered it, with the squad members checking every crevice for surprises.

"Alpha Team to HQ. We're in pursuit of the target." One of the squad members reported, as they passed through the rooms, which seemed to look like a apartment building. When they continued on, they managed to find the squad-mate that was captured by the snake BOW, except the squadmate was already dead, with large amounts of blood leaking from a large bite wound on the neck and spine of the soldier.

"Shit... That's no way to go out..." One of the squadmates stated with slight concern.

As they continued through the apartment complex, they suddenly bumped into the slithering BOW, that got into their view for a moment, before immediately making a quick U-turn to go deeper into the building.

"What was that...!?" A squadmate exclaimed.

"That's the target!" Chris shouted.

"Damnit! Why won't that thing show itself!?" Another squad member cursed.

"Well, that's one hell of a snake, if I saw its figure correctly..." Sanae commented.

They immediately pushed their way into another set of corridors, as Chris checked the area ahead of them, before gesturing for his men to follow him, as they moved their way through, except for one of them, who heard a faint hissing sound down in the darkness of the unlit parts of the corridors. He slowly made his way down, before pulling out a hand-held flashlight, shining it around to see if he could find the source of the sound. However, when he heard it a second time, the snake BOW immediately pounced at him, and bit down on his torso, causing him to scream out in utter pain.

The scream of their squadmate caused the entire BSAA team to move back, as they saw the BOW shake the soldier in its mouth, while he fired wildly in a attempt to shoot the monstrous snake, although his shots hit everywhere, causing the team to immediately duck and lean to avoid the shots coming their way.

"What the hell...!?" Marisa exclaimed, as she saw the snake make its prey lose his rifle, before then slamming him on the ground. After a few moments, the snake then bit down on the left leg of the soldier, dragging him around the corner, while immediately melding its scale colour to the environment, turning invisible.

Chris immediately growled, before then rushing to chase after the BOW. "Captain, wait!" Piers shouted, as he immediately ran after him, with Marisa and Sanae following closely behind. When they managed to catch up to Chris, he was in a junction, checking all sides with his gun raised, before pointing it at them, lowering it when he realised it was his partner and the mercenaries. Chris then looked back in front, before letting out a frustrated cry.

"What the hell are you thinking pulling off a kamikaze stunt like that!?" Piers roared at his captain with outrage.

Chris remained silent for a moment, before he then responded coolly. "These are my men. You follow my lead or I'll find someone who will."

"Whoa, calm down there!" Marisa shouted. "Look, I know what just happened was quite bad, but really...!? REALLY!? Running after a goddamn snake who literally camouflaged itself right before our eyes. You do know that snakes are smart enough to lure prey with stuff like this...? You really need to take a step back and think for a moment."

Chris immediately turned around slowly, before slowly walking towards Marisa with a hard look in his eyes. "I would be careful on what you say. Especially to me right now." Chris hissed back with a slightly threatening tone, before walking past her, eyes looking at Piers. "Fall in line, soldier."

Piers and Marisa stood still for a few seconds, before they then immediately followed after Chris. "You heard the man. Let's move."

"Jeez, problems much?" Marisa grumbled under her breath.

"How are we supposed to drop this thing, if we can't even see it?" A squad member asked.

"Shut up and keep moving!" Chris barked back.

They continued on, before they found the dead body of their squadmate, lying in a pile of broken furniture and trash.

"Keaton...! Not you too!" One of the squadmates growled.

"Looks like this won't be going well." Sanae remarked. "Chris. We need to be more careful, or else..."

"I understand. But how are we going to take that thing down...?" Chris asked back.

When the squad immediately proceeded into the next set of rooms, one of the squadmates immediately moved forwards to check the room ahead, sweeping the area. "Clear-"

Before he could react, the snake BOW immediately crash through the ceiling of the room, grasping the entire upper body of the soldier.

"Reid! Reid!" One of the remaining squad-mates shouted.

"Let him go, you piece of shit!" Another one swore, as he fired his rifle at the snake, to no effect, as it immediately withdrew through the hole it made, as the soldier screamed from inside of it, and blood began to pour down onto the ground beneath it.

"...Ugh." Marisa grunted with annoyance. "Now this is just getting tedious. This better not result in all of your squad dead, because I'm NOT having this at all! Next time I see that damn snake, it's going to get blown into fillet!"

Chris merely looked at the blood pool in front of him, before he growled, and made his way out of the room, just in time to see the snake BOW immediately slither from the floor above, and over the ledge into the lower floors of the building.

"I found it! It's making its way downstairs! Repeat, it's headed downstairs!" A squadmate reported.

"You're not getting away, you sneaky piece of shit!" The other squadmate screamed.

The group immediately rappelled down the broken lift cable, before a broken large air-conditioner unit fell down in front of them, blocking the way down.

"This shit's in the way! Give me a hand, Piers!" Chris called out, as the two of them immediately used their combined might to push the air conditioner over the edge, where it finally broke apart, allowing them access to the four pieces of broken lift cables to rappel further down with.

"Alright, I have my eye out for that slippery bastard now." Marisa stated, as she readied her grenade-launcher in one hand.

The group then immediately took a cable each, with Marisa and Chris, Piers and Sanae each sharing the same cable, as they slowly rappeled down. However, before they could land on the ground, the snake BOW immediately attacked one of the nearest squadmates, causing Marisa to aim at it.

"Got you now, you oversized lizard-" Marisa was about to sneer, as she fired a grenade-round right at its gaping mouth. However, before the grenade hit its target, it closed its mouth, preventing it from hitting its vulnerable insides. "Oh, you clever son of a-"

The snake then immediately bent itself around, before grabbing the squad-mate in its jaw, and dragging it along with the entire network of cables, as Piers was dragged into the third floor of the building with Sanae, and Marisa immediately let go of the cable, before she could slam into the side of the building like Chris did, dropping down to the ground floor. After Chris immediately recovered from the impact, he immediately activated his comms.

"Everyone, report in!" Chris ordered.

"Piers here. I got Sanae with me. We're at the third floor." Piers reported back.

"Captain! I can't find Jeff! He's gone!" One of the squad-mates shouted.

"Get a hold of yourself, Marco. Where are you?" Chris called out.

"Second floor! Oh shit! I think that thing's here!" Marco responded back.

"Target is on the second floor! You all need to come here, now!" Chris stated.

"Easier said than done. Come on, big boy. We got your squad-mates to save." Marisa stated.

As they proceeded, they found the body of their third deceased squad-mate, lying in a pool of his own blood.

"Reid! Goddamnit..." Chris muttered under his breath.

"Captain! I can hear Jeff. That's him screaming!" Marco said through the comms, before the sounds of footsteps could be heard in it. "I'm coming, man! Just hold on!"

"Marco, do you hear me? Hold your position! Do you hear me? That's an order!" Chris shouted.

"Don't bother. I doubt you're in time." Marisa stated. "Let's just hurry up and get to him ourselves! Before your friend Marco does anything rash!"

They immediately made their way up to the second floor, where they joined back up with Sanae and Piers, before breaking through a door to find themselves in a corridor with several doors. As soon as they entered it, Marco was immediately ejected through one of the doors, flying out and hitting the ground, as the snake was slithering inside the room. Marco immediately fired back, causing it to retreat further into the room and disappearing.

"It's... It's inside." Marco stated, before he slowly got up.

"OK, we find that piece of shit and we put it down. Fast and hard!" Chris declared.

"Wait, hold up for a moment." Marisa stated. "You just lost more than half of your damn squad, and you still want to chase that thing...!?"

"Did I not make our mission clear enough. We're taking this BOW out. No matter what it takes." Chris growled back.

"Suit yourself. But I'm going to put it out here, since I can literally predict what's going to happen at this rate, and I ain't no clairvoyant." Marisa scoffed. "Your entire squad is going to die, and it's going to be your fault, because you literally walked them right into the fucking death trap that this building is. And evidence to my point, just look at how it got every single of your squadmates: Through sheer, utter stealth, and a body as hard as damn rock! This apartment was just an invitation to death, and you literally didn't realise that, and I bet that you won't believe me, until your friend right here is gone. I'm sorry that I can't put this nicely for you, but this is not good at all, and I detest this macho crap that you're trying to pull here, you get me!?"

Chris looked at Marisa for a moment, before he then silently went down the room, and jumped down the hole at the other end to chase after the snake. Marisa was justifiably frustrated at the ignorance that Chris displayed, as she stomped after Chris.

"Fine. Suit yourself." Marisa growled through grit teeth, before she was stopped by Sanae. "What is it, Sanae?"

"Look, you didn't have to-" Sanae was about to say, before she caught herself mid-sentence, struggling to formulate her response, and then just giving up. "...Never mind."

Marisa snorted back, before she jumped down the hole, as Piers and Sanae followed after him. They found Chris checking Jeff's body, as Marco was already over it as well. "Jeff...!" He cried.

"Poor bastard..." Piers stated.

Marisa immediately kicked the gates ahead of her open, while loading a grenade into her grenade launcher. "Alright, you slithering menace. Enough with this hide-and-seek game. If you want to hide anymore, I'll bomb this entire damn place so that you have absolutely nowhere to surprise us from. And I have more than enough damn explosive to finish the job too. So come out, you son of a bitch!"

There was no response, as Marisa merely kept her launcher up. "Figures. You want to continue playing. Go on, I absolutely detest filthy beings like you sneaking in the shadows. And I have had enough of you up until now."

The group immediately looked around, as they entered a room filled with processed meat carcasses, as if they were in a kitchen's butchering section. As they proceeded, Marco immediately felt drool fall onto his shoulder, as well as a prominent hissing sound above him. Sanae immediately noticed the drool, only slightly before Piers did, as they both raised their weapons where the snake certainly would be at.

"CEILING!" They both shouted almost simultaneously, firing their weapons, dazing it long enough for Marco to notice the threat.

"No!" Chris shouted, as he immediately tackled Marco out of the snake's way, as it landed down on the ground. When it did, it immediately opened its mouth, revealing that its fangs twitched and curled like living bone pincers, and its long red forked tongue was twisted and bent in a un-natural way. However, before it could pounce, Marisa immediately fired a grenade right into its open mouth, as it instinctively swallowed the explosive, causing it to writhe in agony when it detonated, and shed its camouflage in the lapse of pain it felt, with smoke fuming from its mouth.

"How's that for a appetiser...!?" Marisa taunted, reloading the launcher.

"You killed my men!" Chris shouted, as he fired his rifle right at the snake while it was dazed by the grenade attack, supported by Sanae, Piers and Marco.

After a few moments, the snake immediately recovered from its daze, before camouflaging itself again, and rising to the ceiling, and then feinting right past the group, into a small passage in the room, that they can only crawl through.

"I think it went through-" Marco was about to say, before cut off by Marisa.

"Yeah, thanks for the heads-up, Captain Obvious." Marisa dryly stated. "Who's going to be the lucky one to go first? I'm sure that you'll get your close and personal encounter with this great specimen."

"I'll go." Sanae stated. "I have enough rounds to drive it off, if it tries to attack me while I crawl through here."

Sanae then immediately crawled into the small passage, moving slowly, one arm at a time, with her assault rifle at the ready. As expected, the BOW immediately slithered towards her with its mouth open. With a few precise shots to the maw, she managed to drive away the snake for the time being, until she managed to reach neat the other opening of the passage.

When she crawled out of the passage, she was ambushed by the snake, who pounced at her quickly, causing her to immediately dodge to the side, although she botched her landing, tripping right into the ground, and rolling over to the other side of the room. As she tried to get up, the BOW stealthily wrapped the entire length of its own body around Sanae like a trap snare, before then speeding up, and constricting Sanae in her grip, revealing itself to her

"Let... me... go...!" Sanae shouted, as she briefly flashed with light for a moment, before using her brief inhuman strength from her miracles to push the body of the snake off her, allowing her to escape its hold. Marisa immediately crawled out of the passage, before she tagged the BOW with another grenade to its mouth, stunning it once again. As the two of them attacked it, it immediately hissed in rage, and retreated through another room, just as Chris, Piers and Marco had made it to the other side.

"It's gone. After it!" Chris stated, as they entered the room, looking everywhere for the snake. "That thing's in here. We're going to end this."

As they looked around, Chris noticed the slight distortion in a certain place, before he fired his rifle right at a spot, hitting the head of the BOW, revealing it.

"Die, you sack of shit!" Chris cursed out loud, as everyone immediately fired upon it with everything they had.

The snake immediately writhed under the constant fire that it was under, before it immediately retreated again, before pushing its way through a set of doors.

"Again...!? After it!" Chris yelled, as everyone immediately went through the doors, climbed up the ladder ahead of them. When they reached the door, Chris and Piers immediately slammed their way through it, before being ambushed by the snake BOW, as they fell right down into the small passage down below. Marco immediately moved in front, standing on top of the ledge, as the snake slithered down to approach both of the BSAA operatives. They immediately fired at the BOW, only for it to have no effect, as they dodged its darting strike just in time.

"Its hide has toughened up or something! Our weapons aren't doing anything now!" Piers notified Chris.

"Then we have to find something that will!" Chris responded back. "Just keep that thing busy."

"Got it." Piers nodded, before he then immediately ran around the perimeter of the passageway, which was a full loop, except there was a overhanging bunch of electrical wires that were hanging above a large puddle of water, with it being frayed in the right place to be able to electrify the water if even a single spark touches the puddle when the power is in.

As Chris climbed up a ladder to get on top of the other side, he managed to find the power controls to the wire, as he immediately waited for the right moment for the snake to be over the puddle, before immediately flipping the switch. However, as he did, the other side of the main wire immediately fell off, as it was on the same side as Marisa, Sanae and Marco were, the metal plug connecting it slamming down on the ground.

"Marco! Power that thing up!" Chris ordered.

"I'm on it-" Marco responded back, before he was stopped by Sanae.

"No, you've done far more than enough in this situation." Sanae advised Marco. "Let Lisa handle this one."

"Alright, it's just moving that damn thing back in place, right?" Marisa stated, as she cracked her knuckles in preparation. "Alright, you'll get your power, Chris."

She then immediately hefted the power plug up, before then slamming it in with great force, as it caused a major shock to flow up Marisa, causing her to spasm violently, before then immediately stumbling randomly around, before Sanae managed to catch her, allowing her to get her bearings back.

"Ow, that really sucked there..." Marisa muttered, before she then shouted. "You better not miss this one, Chris! I don't think there's enough juice to power a second charge!"

Chris acknowledged Marisa's warning, as he waited for the next time for Piers to guide the snake BOW to the puddle. When the timing was right, he immediately turned the power on, as the sparks flew from the frayed part of the electrical wires, landing in the puddle and hitting the biological terror with tremendous force, as its scales smoked and it wriggled and hissed in agony, before falling still.

"Heh, we did it... We fried that son of a bitch!" Marco exclaimed, before turning to Marisa. "You alright, lass. You look like you've been given a real good shocking before."

"I'm fine." Marisa stated, before she then crouched over the edge, to help Piers up. "Now come on, we got other things to deal with right now."

Piers immediately took Marisa's hand, while Chris was being helped up by Marco, before they immediately made their way towards the exit of the building.

"Well... at least we got it." Piers told Chris.

"But no Ada yet." Chris stated, as it caused surprise to appear on Sanae's face, and Marisa to turn to Chris with narrowed eyes. "I'm not gonna rest until we have her head on a stick."

"Excuse me? Who the hell is Ada...?" Marisa responded back.

"The one responsible for that thing and many more. That's all you need to know." Chris answered back, as they made their way into another room, this time with windows to the city outside, although the room itself was filled with nothing but debris.

"This is crazy, Chris. It's not safe in here. We need to pull out immediately-" Piers was about to say, before he heard the sound of something whistling through the air, as a thick white dart slammed into the ground behind them, and both captain and partner turned around to see Sanae over Marco, as if she tackled him down, and Marisa pointing her grenade launcher at a woman with short black hair, a red scarf, a blue dress, and a small side-arm in her hands, sitting on the frame of one of the windows.

"Well, that was not expected." The woman spoke with a unamused look on her face.

"Ada!" Chris screamed in barely controllable rage, pointing his rifle at her.

"So, you're Ada. Now I see why this guy hates you. I bet that's some virus in there, right?" Marisa scoffed.

"Ha. Welcome to China, girl." Ada smirked back, before she immediately fell backwards off the window, as Chris let out a roar of anger, as Ada disappeared from their view.

Chris then immediately turned to Marco, who gave Sanae a appreciative look for potentially saving him from whatever gruesome fate that the dart might have brought him. He immediately noticed the snarl on his captain's face, as he immediately raised his rifle, and nodded back. Chris then immediately made his way to the gate that was blocking their way out of the building, as Marco set one of his demolition charges up, before blowing the gate doors off their hinges.

As they proceeded, Chris then stopped mid-stride. "Marco. I want you to return to base immediately. Report that you are under direct orders by me to evacuate from this area immediately. And report the deaths of the other squad members of Team Alpha to the BSAA."

"But, captain, what about you-" Marco was about to ask.

"This doesn't concern you anymore. You have already done enough. Call for evacuation, or regroup with another team." Chris firmly told Marco.

"I... I..." Marco was about to state, before he then recalled what happened to the rest of the team, as he relented immediately. "I understand."

Marco then immediately activated his comms. "This is Marco from Team Alpha. The captain, Chris Redfield, has ordered my retreat. I would like to have information on any possible evacuation methods that are available to me, or any squads that I can join up with."

There was garbled chatter on the other side, only heard by Marco, before he then nodded. "Understood. I will head over there then." He stated, before closing the comms.

He then turned to Chris. "Well, there's no evac for me, but there's another BSAA team nearby. Hopefully, I'll be able to have more chances of living by sticking with them for the time being. No offence to you, Captain and company."

"...None taken." Chris muttered back, as Marco immediately sprinted his way down the corridor, before disappearing through a turn into one of the corridors.

After Marco was both out of sight and earshot, Chris immediately slammed his hand against the wall, as he breathed heavily, in a attempt to calm himself down.

"Chris, you need to stay calm." Piers advised Chris.

"...After what she's done to us? How many of our men are dead because of that bitch!?" Chris shouted back, turning around to face Piers. "And I was lucky that Marco was saved because of the fact that the mercenaries managed to notice the surprise before we did!"

"I'm right there with you, Captain, but your personal vendetta isn't going to get us anywhere!" Piers reasoned back with a heated tone. "If you hadn't been blinded by vengeance, then we could have prevented some of those deaths, if not all of them!"

"Shut up." Chris muttered back.

Piers was shocked, but before he could do anything, Marisa immediately walked over, her expression filled with animosity.

"I'm sorry, what did you say...?" Marisa muttered back with a very acidic tone, causing Sanae to panic.

"Lisa, calm down!" Sanae advised her friend.

"Not this time, Sanae." Marisa growled back, before she stomped towards Chris. "You're telling us to shut up, because you can't goddamn cope with the fact that you walked your men into this deathtrap, and you refuse to admit it. See what I said before, you don't believe me, because Marco here is the lucky survivor. But guess what, you were right. If it wasn't for us, Marco would not have survived at all, and I would have been ABSOLUTELY right about what I said before."

"SHUT UP!" Chris screamed back.

"MAKE ME!" Marisa yelled back with greater force. "Look at the big bad military captain here, shouting in the face of a woman who has more damn common sense than him! You don't get to play the fucking sympathy card to me! You knew the damn risks, and you took them. So stop whining like a damn baby, and accept that your entire damn squad died because of poor decision made by their leader, i.e YOU. If you actually cared about your damn men, you would have tried to lure that damn thing into a favourable situation, where we would have easily taken it apart without losing any of your damn men. But NO! You just had to push your luck, and this is what you get for tempting fate like the utterly sad bastard you are! I wonder if you're even fit to even lead a team with this level of judgement! And if it's only because of your emotions, EVEN MORE THE FUCKING REASON you should be impeached from your damn role!"

Chris roared, as he turned around, grabbed Marisa by the shoulders, and slammed her against the wall with great force, with grit teeth. When he did, however, Marisa immediately slammed him with a hook to the jaw, stunning him long enough, for her to flip them around, as she slammed him onto the wall, before repeatedly slamming him against the wall.

"You're a disgrace! A utter damn disgrace! You made the biggest damn blunder of your life, and you won't own up or move on from it!" Marisa screamed with fury. "I don't care what the fuck you think you are to put yourself on a pedestal to blame life for your shitty decisions, but you disgrace every single damn person who died believing in you. And that makes you utterly worthless. No-one needs or deserves a leader who would throw away his men just for petty pride and vengeance!"

Chris was left shocked at Marisa's word, before Marisa immediately shoved him, as she turned around, and saw that Sanae was clutching her mouth in utter horror of what she just saw.

"...You're very damn lucky that you actually managed to pull off taking care of that thing. Because I swore to myself, if your incompetency shone like that once more... I would have literally say 'fuck it' to whatever order Grant had for us." Marisa hissed. "I thought that you might be able to find something worth taking note of here. But everything from entering that damn apartment, up until now... I doubt it. I truly doubt that you would amount to anything. So I'll make this simple for you. Either you suck it up and learn from it, or you can just do whatever you want, so long it doesn't end up being utterly FUBAR like before."

Chris merely grunted, before he then immediately activated his comms. "HQ, this is Alpha Leader. I need a location on Ada Wong." Chris stated.

"I'm going with you." Piers stated. "Someone's got to keep an eye on you... whether you want them or not."

"...We'll be helping you still." Sanae added. "Look, I'm sorry what Lisa said... I don't know what gotten into her, but I'm sure that she's just as angry about your men dying as you are. Except that... well..."

"That doesn't make it much better." Chris stoically responded back.

"This is HQ! We got the location for you." The operator for Chris responded back through the comms. "Ada Wong has left the city and is heading south for the harbour. HQ to all teams, target Ada Wong has been spotted, heading south for the harbour. We want her alive."

"...Good luck with that." Marisa sarcastically stated, before she then made her way forward. "Come on, Chris. You want Ada so badly, then stop moping around like a idiot, and get moving. I'm not taking any more of your bullshit, so you better not fuck up along the way."

Chris sighed deeply, before he followed after Marisa, as Sanae and Piers followed after them both, as they made their way towards the harbour.


	11. Chris Chapter 2

Unmei Force Infection

Chris Chapter 2: Chasing Shadows

* * *

_In the harbour near Koocheng..._

The group of mercenaries and operatives immediately exited through a door on one of the docks, as they saw that the entire river canal was relatively peaceful, considering that the boats in sight are mostly intact, and there was no J'avo to be seen anywhere.

"You wanna follow me around, fine. Just make sure you stay out of my way. I'm going after Ada, and that is non-negotiable." Chris told the others with a firm tone.

"As long as you don't cross the line again,that won't be a problem at all." Piers responded back. "Ada's just playing with you. When are you going to realise that?"

"I'm not stupid enough to fall for her bullshit." Chris argued back, as they started moving down to head towards the nearest boat to traverse on. "You should have a little more faith in your captain, Piers."

"Yeah sure." Marisa responded back with a bitter tone. "Have some faith in the captain who literally drove us into a death trap that killed almost all of his men. A fore-warning, you make a fuck-up like that again, I'm most definitely not pulling you out of it. I have had enough troubles thanks to all that damn snake did earlier."

Chris merely grunted as a reply, before they then dropped down to one of the boats, before they made their way across the boats. As they did, they managed to sight a few J'avo with the mutated mantis legs, as they immediately jumped off nearby boats, in order to get closer to them to attack with both their arms and weapons.

The group immediately made for cover, as they carefully traversed through the path made by the inactive boats floating in the river, taking care not to accidentally shoot the boats and sink them, complicating their advance through the river. As they managed to take out the last of the J'avo that were pursuing them, they immediately made their way to another dock, where they immediately bashed their way through the door blocking their way ahead.

They soon saw Ada, who was standing on top of a motor-boat, as Chris growled in response, before they then heard the sound of a helicopter flying above them, as it lowered itself to an altitude where it could take aim at the group.

"Captain, get a hold of yourself! That helo's about to open up on us!" Piers warned Chris.

"We're sitting ducks out here! We need to find proper cover!" Chris exclaimed. "Move!"

The group immediately picked up the pace, as they ran across the boats with great agility, as Piers managed to see that there was J'avo in their way.

"You gotta be kidding me...!" Piers cursed.

"Shut up and get moving! These bastards aren't our priority for the moment!" Marisa shouted, before she immediately hopped down right beside the nearest J'avo, before she booted it right into the river with a quick kick, while it let out a string of foriegn swears before it fell into the water.

Chris and Piers immediately readied their weapons, as they committed run-and-gun, shooting out any J'avo in their way, or disabling them enough for them to be easily pushed past. They soon managed to reach a large two-storey floating restaurant, as they immediately made their way to the second floor, where they found even more J'avo.

"Alpha to HQ! We got a visual on Ada Wong. We're in pursuit!" Chris shouted through his comms.

"This is HQ. From information by the captain of Team Alpha, Ada Wong has been spotted moving down the canal." The voice on the other side informed all in the comms channel. "Charlie and Delta Teams, form a perimeter around Koocheng."

"All right, you know the deal. Just keep that thing occupied and in my sight, and I'll lock on with my launcher, and blow it to smithereens!" Marisa shouted, as she immediately took the rocket launcher from her back, and immediately loaded it with a rocket.

They immediately made their way to the balcony, as they weaved through a hail of bullets coming their way, as well as several missiles that was taking out the railing that they were using as cover from the helicopter. As they did, they fired back, trying to attract the helicopter's attention, or slow it down by wearing its moving rotor blades down with constant fire. Marisa then immediately took the chance to lock onto the helicopter with her rocket launcher, until she manged to get a full lock, firing the weapon to blow the helicopter to pieces.

"Let's go!" Chris stated, as they immediately jumped right off the restaurant, landing on a large boat, before they immediately got up and looked back, seeing that there was steaming smoke where the helicopter wreck fell into the river at. "That's that. Now we get Ada."

"Copy that." Piers stated.

"Hope we won't have to deal with anything like that again for the time being." Sanae muttered under her breath.

They soon continued across the boats, before managing to reach the other side of the river, where they saw that the same motor-boat that Ada was riding before was parked at the edge, and in front of them was a ladder leading them up to a large facility above them.

"She's here!" Chris stated, before he saw a group of standard J'avo drop down from the ladder, as they charged at the group. "Not now...!"

"Stand back and let me take care of this." Marisa scoffed, before she immediately fired a propelled grenade right into the centre of the enemy group, as it gibbed the entire group in a single shot.

They soon climbed up the ladder, and pushed their way through the gate, reaching the facility, whose doors were open, and there was a sign beside the open doors which stated that the building was called the 'Vinci Medical Research Centre' with the appropriate Chinese translation above the English words. Piers immediately looked at the sign, while Chris stacked up behind the wall, checking the area past the open doors carefully.

"Think this is where they've been developing the C-Virus?" Piers pondered loudly.

"C-Virus...? Is that the stuff that was used to make those zombies from before...? Because they're certainly not the zombies you would expect to see in a flick about them..." Sanae responded back.

"You already seen what the C-Virus can do to people. And with Ada using it for her own sinister purposes, we cannot let her get away." Chris responded back. "Follow me in."

As they moved into the facility, the four of them looked around, trying to find Ada. Chris managed to find Ada, who just came out of one of the doors in the cat-walk above. "Ada!" Chris growled, as he immediately fired at her with his rifle.

Ada immediately noticed the shots coming her way, as she dodged the first burst of fire coming her way, hitting the door behind her, before she fired her grappling hook launcher on the roof, swinging across the room, as Chris fired after her, only for his shots to miss. When she disappeared from sight again, Chris let out a grunt of frustration.

"You can't run forever, Ada." Chris hissed.

"Alpha Team to HQ! Come in! We are in pursuit of Ada Wong!" Piers reported to their headquarters through the comms.

The four immediately ran after the direction that Ada went, pushing past the doors, and finding themselves in a small corridor, with one side filled with computer terminals, and sustenance pods for the twisted test subjects for the C-Virus. And on the other end of the corridor was a door that was leading into a elevator shaft. Chris immediately saw that the elevator itself was coming down to their floor.

"Make a run for the elevator! Go!" Chris shouted, before they heard another set of footsteps ring in the corridor, as it sounded like that it was right through on the other side of the terminals and sustenance pods. "What the...?"

"Someone else is here...? Hostiles...?" Piers remarked.

"Maybe a few of her pets. Ignore them. She's the target." Chris stated clearly.

"...Who knows...?" Marisa stated. "Either way, they don't sound like one, that I can be sure of."

"I could agree with Lisa there. What are you talking about-" Sanae was about to say, before some voices rang from the other side muffled.

"Sounds like we're not alone in here." Leon's muffled voice said.

"Probably whoever was shooting at Ada. One more thing to worry about." Helena's voice stated.

"Did I just hear..." Richard's voice rang with some surprise in it. "Never mind, these corridors aren't good for the hearing... We need to get across and quick. Who knows what these people have in store..."

"It would be wise that we make it there first. What I just heard... I don't think that they're here for the same reasons as we are..." Reisen's voice added.

At the sounds of their comrade's voices, both Marisa and Sanae froze up.

"...The hell...!?" Marisa exclaimed. "That has got to be...! It's definitely Kaz and Mira!"

"But why are they after Ada, and who are the other two with them...?" Sanae pondered.

"That doesn't matter!" Chris shouted. "Ada is running away as we talk! We cannot let her get away!"

The four of them immediately sprinted down the long corridor, as did the other four, evident from the sound of hurried footsteps heard on their side. However, before they did, they manage to catch a glimpse of Ada standing right above the entire corridor, with something in her hands, although it was hard to make out what it was.

"Glad you could stop in. Like what I've done with the place?" Ada mocked, her voice ringing through the speakers in the room. As she spoke, the open door in front of them was immediately blocked by lasers, as the power conduits on the side immediately lit up. On top of that, the entire corridor began to produce lasers from near the door, in intricate patterns, as they rushed towards the four of them. "Hope you enjoy your stay. Ahahahaha..."

"Laugh while you can, Ada. Cause you're going down..." Chris stated in a low voice.

"Mira! Shoot those damn things now!" Richard's muffled voice was heard on the other side.

"I doubt I have the time to prepare a shot accurate enough with how fast the lasers are coming, Kaz." Reisen's voice stated. "We're going to have to approach it close enough to get a clear shot."

"Damn it all... We have to get there first. WE HAVE TO!" Richard's voice shouted.

"Yep, definitely him and her." Marisa noted. "With those kind of words, it can't be anyone else."

"What should we do, Lisa...?" Sanae asked Marisa, as they made their way closer.

"Well, I don't know what's right at the moment, but it's best for us that we get to this Ada first." Marisa stated, before she immediately readied her grenade launcher.

She immediately waited for the right moment to fire it, as she dodged past another wave of lasers, before she immediately fired it right at the top of the door, hoping the explosion would destroy both power conduits that were powering the lasers blocking the way to the elevator, as the grenade managed to barely slip through another pattern of lasers, which was in the middle of being created, striking its intended target, and destroying both of the power conduits, as both the lasers guarding the door and the lasers coming at them died, allowing them to sprint full speed to the elevator.

"Wait... Was that just a grenade exploding...!?" Richard's voice exclaimed with surprise. "Then that means...!"

As the four of them immediately filed into the elevator, as Chris immediately slammed the up button, causing the shutter doors in front of them to close, Sanae and Marisa managed to briefly meet eyes with Richard and Reisen, as the four of them were shocked at what they were seeing. However, more to both Marisa's and Sanae's shock, Richard's expression morphed into one of respect and amazement in the last moment, before the doors closed completely.

"Did he just..." Marisa stated with shock.

"...I really don't know whether he was amazed that we managed to one-up him there, or that we impressed him with that resourceful and miraculous move there..." Sanae stated, before she placed a hand on her fore-head. "I... I think that we're going to need to take a long break after this one."

The elevator soon stopped at its destination, as the shutter doors immediately opened to reveal that there was a metal door in front of them, with the numbers '01' etched on it in white. Chris and Piers immediately pressed the switches on both sides of the doors, as the doors slid open, allowing the four of them to enter the room. The entire room was divided into two sides, this time by a metallic wall with screens, with sustenance pods filled with more test subjects in them.

"What the hell is all of this...?" Piers muttered, as he looked around, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

"Keep your eyes peeled. Who knows what this bitch has in store..." Chris advised everyone, as he made his way to the doors on the other side of the room, which were closed, with a set of five lights, all of them red, and a glass window on the left side of the door, showing the room on the other side of it, which had a large control console. He immediately tried approaching the door, then trying to force it open, before ramming it with a short shoulder charge, all to no effect. "We're locked in."

"Just great... How are we going to get out of this one..." Marisa stated, before she then took a look through one of the pods, as she could see the other four through the liquid and glass, as Richard and Reisen were looking and moving around, unaware that Marisa was looking at them. "Huh. Looks like they're locked up in here like us."

"Engaging locks. Testing for prototypes." The female synthetic voice of the system rang through the room. At the same time, Ada immediately entered the room on the other side of the doors, stopping right before the control console, and immediately inputting something into the console.

"Ada!" Chris shouted, before the screens immediately booted up, before they turned red, with the words 'WARNING' on it. As soon as the screens turned on, small flat drones, which had a large amount of legs around its circular body, as well as sliding across the floor like pucks, with a glowing blue centre.

"What are those...!?" Sanae exclaimed, as she immediately turned towards them with her rifle up.

"We've been conducting such fascinating work here." Ada continued. "Why don't you have some fun with one of the new prototypes."

"Her little bag of tricks isn't going to stop us!" Chris exclaimed, before one of the drones slid towards him, before immediately stopping right near his feet, as its blue centre began to glow red, as well as letting out a ominous beeping sound.

Chris immediately took the sound as a warning, moving away before the drone immediately exploded violently like a triggered land-mine, while several more managed to get close to the members, forcing them to move away. Sanae immediately helped the others out, by using her rifle to shoot out the drones, destroying them before they could detonate themselves.

Marisa immediately noticed that there was a power box in the room, as well as a crow-bar conveniently placed beneath it, as she immediately got to work prying the power box open, by jamming its curved head into the gap, managing to do so quickly enough, exposing the large maze of wires and components inside of it.

"Oi, you got anyone who can handle this junk!?" Marisa called out.

"Let me! See if you can hold those things off, Captain! I'll get us past the lock!" Piers stated, as he immediately moved towards the open power box, before immediately manipulating it. As he did, one of the red lights on the door turned green.

"Security breach detected in Room One." The mechanical female voice stated, before shortly after the announcement, there was another. "Security breach detected in Room Zero."

As Piers worked on the power box, more and more of the prototype drones slid into the room, as they tried their best to bait the drones into exploding earlier by getting closer to them to trigger them, and then moving away to let them explode harmlessly, and taking out any of them that seemed to be heading for Piers.

"Security breach detected in Room One."

"Security breach detected in Room Zero."

These announcements alternated one after the other, as each time a security breach was made at their end, a large wave of drones would slide into the room. Eventually, the fifth security breach occurred, as all of the lights on the door in front of them turned green.

"Disengaging locks in Room One." The female voice concluded, as the doors immediately opened up, as Ada immediately left the room, right into another set of catwalks before she then dropped down, just as metal shutters dropped down to cover the glass windows.

"Let's move! There's no time to waste!" Chris stated, as they immediately made their way through the doors, right into the room, as they immediately made their way through the room.

"Someone doesn't want us to catch Ada. She might not be working alone." Leon's voice remarked.

"No shit. Looks like it might be the same ones who beat us to the elevator. Still... It looks fine to get through. Let's hurry." Richard's voice said.

As Marisa passed by the room, she could hear the female computer voice, although it was both muffled and distorted. And right after that, she could barely hear Richard scream out 'Motherfucker!' on the other side of the door. She immediately then turned back, as she saw Chris and Piers drop down after Ada, while Sanae did the same. Marisa immediately jumped down after the three of them.

Just as they did, they heard another set of doors open, possibly the doors connecting the room that Leon's group was in to the control room. Chris's group immediately rushed after Ada, as they managed to see her running away from them.

"Give it up, Ada! It's over!" Chris exclaimed.

"Oh, is the big,bad soldier going to shoot me?" Ada teased, as she continued to run, before they all went around a corner, just as Ada managed to throw a few smoke grenades, which slowed the four of them down. As they tried to get the smoke out of their eyes and lungs, Ada immediately reached a point where she could swing from with her grappling gun. "It's been fun. Ciao."

"Ada!" Chris growled, as Ada immediately fired her grappling hook launcher, before escaping right on the other side of the catwalks, before she immediately started running towards the gate. "Don't lose her, Piers!"

"I won't!" Piers stated, as the two of them immediately picked up the pace.

"Crap, she's going to get away at this point!" Marisa exclaimed.

"Ada!" Leon's voice could be heard, as Sanae turned towards it, and saw that Leon's group were on the catwalks above them.

"Your friend likes to play hard to get. She always been like this?" Helena asked Leon.

"Either way, we can't let those soldiers get to her. I'll deal with my own men. You just stop them from getting to Ada first!" Richard shouted back.

"Kaz..." Sanae muttered, before the four of them immediately got to the gate, and pushed it open, just in time for Ada to appear right through a door, into view.

"There she is! Cut her off!" Chris shouted, as he took one of the paths around.

"I've got her!" Piers responded back, as he took the other path, as Sanae and Marisa also split up to help the respective operatives out.

As soon as Chris managed to get her right in front of her, Ada tried to turn around to shake him off, before Piers immediately fired his rifle right at the ground in front of her, with Marisa immediately readying her grenade launcher, ready to blow the catwalk in front of her to stop her from taking the path, if she had to.

The four of them immediately approached closer to Ada, with their weapons drawn, as Ada regarded the both sides that she was trapped by, as she remained still.

There was a moment of silence, as Chris was ready to pull the trigger and end Ada's life right on the spot. However, much to their surprise, Leon immediately pounced from behind, smacking the gun right out of Chris's hands, as it fired off prematurely, as the rifle immediately went over the railing. Sanae was about to react towards Leon, turning towards him. However, before she could even turn around in time, there was a sudden gunshot that immediately hit Sanae's rifle hard enough for it to be knocked out of her hands, surprising her greatly, as she looked around, before noticing that Reisen was right behind Marisa.

Speaking of Marisa, when she heard the gunshot, she was about to whirl around, before she was immediately grappled from behind by the neck with a firm arm. Marisa was almost about to start struggling, before she noticed the person who was holding her, Richard, as his other hand held a side-arm pointed threateningly at Piers, who noticed that his ally was being held captive too late. Reisen immediately aimed her rifle at Chris.

"Kaz...?" Marisa croaked, her voice strained from the grip around her neck.

"_Sorry, Marisa... But this was the only way that I can ensure that neither of us get shot, and we don't blow our covers. Just play along for this one._" Richard harshly whispered in Marisa's ear, only loud enough for her to hear, not Piers.

"_Damnit, Richard... You truly owe me for this one..._" Marisa hissed back.

Richard merely gave her a acknowledging look, as Chris and Leon immediately fought with each other, as they tried to strike at each other, missing each other, before Leon immediately went for a hold, only to be countered by Chris, who immediately clasped Leon's right arm, and threw him in front with a forward throw, as Leon rolled across the ground, before springing up and whipping out his side-arm, just as Chris did the same with his, the two men standing off with each other.

As they immediately took a good look at each other, Leon spoke first. "Chris...!"

"Leon...?" Chris muttered with genuine shock. "What are you doing here?"

Before Leon could answer, Helena immediately ran across the pathway, before she immediately trained her gun right at Sanae, as she immediately reeled back, and placed her hands up in surrender. Piers noticed this, as he immediately readied his rifle, before he heard Richard give off a audible cough for attention.

"Put that gun down, or you're going to die before you get the first shot." Richard threatened coldly. "Don't tempt me."

Piers immediately looked back, as he regarded Richard for a moment, as he slightly loosened up, but refusing to drop the gun. Richard didn't move either, as there was only silence, as Ada looked at the entire situation with amusement.

"Put your gun down, Chris." Leon stated. "She's a key witness. We need her."

"A witness!? She's the one who did all of this!" Chris shouted back.

"Oh, that's what you think...!?" Richard exclaimed, as he immediately shifted his aim towards Chris, earning his attention. "The only reason that she's important to us, is because she's our only hope of pinning fucking Derek Simmons for all of this shit! If you want to say that Ada is responsible for this, then she's his accomplice. Killing her means the trail goes cold turkey. And if that happens... I will blow your head out if you ruined my only chance at ending his scummy life with my own hands."

"What...!?" Chris growled, before turning to Leon. "What is he talking about...!"

"It wasn't her, Chris. It was Simmons, the National Security Advisor." Leon responded back.

"I lost almost all of my men because of her!" Chris screamed back.

"And I lost over 70000 people, including the president, because of Simmons!" Leon argued back.

"And Simmons fucking killed more than what your damn squad could compose of! He fucking tortured and killed almost my entire company of mercenaries!" Richard yelled back. "If you dare to try and ruin things for me, I don't care if you're the fucking saviour of the world, I will personally end your damn life before you even take a step out of the building, and I won't give mercy at all!"

Ada merely looked around, as she immediately rummaged for something with her hands, although she was immediately warned by a shot from Reisen that slammed right into the wall behind her, grazing her waist.

"Don't move." Reisen stated. "If you try anything, I will take out both of your arms."

Richard immediately looked down at Marisa. "Now, while we try to determine the values of keeping or killing Ada, let me ask you a damn question, Lisa: Why the hell are you following after these damn bastards? I expected to meet back up with you two eventually, but not in these circumstances. So explain yourselves. Now." He demanded.

"We found them while we landed right in this place, thanks to some goddamn incident that crashed up right in the middle of this hell-hole." Marisa stated, before glaring at Chris. "We met this bastard, and I whole-heartedly agree with your assessment of him for once. He literally got his damn team killed trying to hunt down one of the biological monstrosity. We managed to save his last man by luck and instinct. And now he's after Ada, because he believes that she's responsible for what happened to him. We're following him, because Grant told us to, and that we might be able to find interesting things if we follow him."

"We're sorry for not notifying you earlier, but we had our suspicions when we heard you guys in the facility itself." Sanae responded back.

"Tch. I see." Richard responded back, before he immediately released Marisa, and lowered his gun. "Well, that's all I need to hear. Then as long as any of you don't try anything stupid, then we might have a chance to discuss all of this like proper men."

"She's working for Neo-Umbrella, Leon." Chris stated. "You know what that means?"

"Yeah, I do." Leon nodded back solemnly.

"And you're still going to protect this woman?" Chris asked firmly.

"...I am." Leon responded back with a steely gaze back.

As they went into silence again, Ada merely waited for a few moments, before she immediately snapped her hand right into her coat, producing a flash-bang grenade, whose pin is already pulled out, before chucking it out.

"Captain!" Piers shouted in warning, as Chris and Leon immediately turned their attention to Ada, just as the flashbang exploded on contact with the ground, blinding everyone with the bright light, and a loud ringing sound, as everyone tried to regain their sight and hearing. When they did, they saw that Ada was right down on the ground, as she looked back at the group with a sly expression.

"Freeze!" Piers shouted, as he raised his rifle, and fired at Ada, who immediately ran away from the gunfire, before she immediately disappeared again. "Damnit!"

Piers immediately ran after Ada, down the stairs, as Helena immediately went after Piers as well.

"Helena!" Leon shouted.

"He's going to kill her!" Helena exclaimed back.

Chris immediately ran after Piers, before he was stopped by Leon. "Chris, wait." Leon stated. "We both want the same thing here."

"...Alright. The BSAA will handle Ada." Chris calmly responded back. "You take care of Simmons."

Leon immediately nodded, satisfied with the answer, before he immediately moved aside, as Chris immediately went down to follow Piers. "I know that you'll do the right thing." He muttered, as Chris went down.

Richard immediately looked at Marisa and Sanae, as they looked back at him. After a few moments, he immediately nodded.

"...Continue following them. We might be able to find another way to incriminate Simmons without Ada." Richard assured the both of them. "Although, take my word that this might not be Ada that we're dealing with right now. After all, we just fought alongside her a day before. And this Ada is nothing alike the one yesterday."

"...Okay." Sanae nodded, before the two of them immediately rushed down the stairs, as they caught up to Chris, who got his rifle back from the ground where he dropped it.

They moved outside of the facility, where they found Piers shooting at a red sports car that was driving away, swerving to avoid the gunfire. As soon as she drove out of sight, Piers immediately turned to them.

"She's making a break for the harbour!" Piers informed them with distress, before turning to Marisa and Sanae. "Are you still..."

"Yep. Kaz's our boss, and he reinforced our decision to go after Ada with you. He says that he has doubts that this is really Ada." Marisa explained. "Either way, we're going to find out a lot more when we finally catch up to her and make her spill the beans."

"That's fine with us. Get in, all of you!" Piers responded back, pointing towards a nearby military jeep, as Marisa and Sanae took the passenger seats, while Chris took the machine-gun turret at the back, with Piers driving the car itself.

"Hey Piers." Chris stated, looking at Piers for a moment. "What you said about me hiding from my past earlier... You were right."

"Captain...?" Piers asked back, with a slightly stunned expression, although his eyes gleamed with respect.

"Can you catch up to her?" Chris asked back.

"Won't stop until I do." Piers replied back with determination, before immediately slamming the jeep door, and igniting the engine of the car into life, as they gunned right into the streets, after Ada and her car.

Eventually they managed to catch up to Ada, who was in the sports car, as Piers immediately activated his comms.

"This is Piers Nivans!" Piers announced. "Ada Wong is moving south towards the military port! Advising all personnel to be on alert!"

"Don't bother! We can handle this!" Chris shouted back, as he immediately revved up the turret. "I've had enough of their stupid games!"

As he did however, various vehicles immediately drove into the street, surrounding Ada, as the jeep occupants could see that the J'avo were manning them, as they were firing at them.

"Damn, looks like we got some unwelcome guests in our way...!" Marisa exclaimed, before she immediately readied her rocket launcher. "I'll support you, Chris and Piers. Just make sure I got line of sight with these bastards, and I'll deal with them in no time!"

Marisa leaned out of the side of the jeep, as she immediately locked onto one of the J'avo-operated vehicles, and blew it up with a single shot, before reloading another rocket, and locking onto another one. However, when she saw that gunfire was heading towards her, she immediately ducked back inside the jeep.

As Marisa and Chris cleared out the endless wave of hostile vehicles that were coming their way, Chris immediately tapped on his comms. "Chris to HQ! Block off all the exits!"

"Sorry, no can do. All of our units are currently engaged. I don't have any to spare." Was the response from the operator.

"Damnit, do you think this is part of her plan?" Piers asked Chris.

The group soon entered a underground tunnel, as Ada managed to reach the other side of the road, while the group's vehicle was stuck on the oncoming lane.

"Now we've got you." Chris stated, as he immediately fired at Ada's car, aiming for the chassis and wheels, only for the bullets to have little effect on them. "What the...!? The car's reinforced?"

"For the best, I guess. We're trying to stop her, not kill her yet." Marisa stated, as she immediately fired another rocket to take out one of her escort vehicles. "Just ignore trying to shoot her, and just get rid of her more threatening escort for now."

As they immediately came out of the tunnel, Piers managed to swerve out of the way of two incoming cars through a tight gap, before he immediately righted the vehicle. "Give it up, Ada! We got you!" He shouted out, as Chris managed to take out a wheel from a J'avo occupied vehicle, causing it to swerve and smash right into the street shops.

"Alpha, come in! This is Delta! We hear you're zeroing in on Ada Wong!" Chris's comms blared out. "We're trying to hold out on our end, but we ain't going to last long. You've gotta catch that woman, before this gets any worse!"

"Don't worry, soldier! We will! You just keep those civilians safe!" Chris responded back.

"Roger that! Good luck! Hopefully we can put an end to this shitstorm! Delta out!" The soldier on the other end replied back, before the comms went silent once again.

Both pursuer and target made their way onto a highway, before Ada passed by a broken-down gas truck, and dropping a grenade right next to it. When it detonated, it also set off the entire truck, creating a large explosion that forced Piers to immediately drive the jeep off the highway, and right onto train tracks, as Chris maintained his sight on Ada.

"Captain! There's a train coming!" Piers warned. "Hold on tight!"

Piers immediately swerved the jeep away from the incoming train, as Chris ceased fire at the moment, to avoid any innocent causalities if the train still contained uninfected in it. When the train passed by them, Piers managed to get the jeep back on the highway, as Ada's car disappeared around a sharp curved bend, as the lights ahead seemed to be switched off. Piers immediately slowed down a little, as they entered a car-park that was covered in darkness, as both Marisa and Chris were checking for enemies from all sides.

When they immediately came up to the next level of the car-park, the darkness was suddenly penetrated when the lights of a nearby jeep turned on, revealing that the J'avo laid a heavy ambush, using their vehicle turrets and rocket-launchers to attack the group. Piers immediately stood up, as he took out a grenade launcher, as Marisa did the same. Sanae immediately put her rifle to use, aiming to take out the J'avo that were assaulting the jeep with the launchers, as they immediately returned fire harshly.

As soon as the J'avo ambush was annihilated, Piers immediately drove the jeep up the car-park, until they found a large hole in the wall, as they saw Ada running down the highway below them. Chris growled, as he got out from his turret. "Hey! Grab your gun! I'm taking the wheel." He told Piers.

"Got it, Captain." Piers nodded, as he immediately swapped places with Chris, as Chris immediately shifted the car into reverse gear.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Sanae asked Chris with worry in her voice.

"Hang on tight. We're taking a short-cut!" Chris responded back, before he slammed the jeep into forward gear, as the jeep immediately zoomed out of the hole in the wall, as it landed on the highway below, before slamming into a wall, jostling the occupants quite heavily, and causing the front windows of the jeep to become cracked from the impact.

Chris immediately righted the jeep, before driving after Ada, punching out the cracked windows, so that he could see clearly. "She's not getting away again." Chris declared. "You're not going to lose us, Ada!"

As the J'avo escort came into view, Piers immediately opened fire, and Marisa switched back to her rocket-launcher, so that she could take out the vehicles from faraway, as they passed through the harbour in front of them, before moving back onto the highway.

"HQ to Alpha! We've spotted an aircraft carrier of unknown origin in the harbour. Chatter we've picked up indicates it might belong to Neo-Umbrella."

"Then that's where Ada's headed! We can't let her reach it!" Piers told everyone.

The group immediately drove into one of the docks in the harbour, as they could see the aircraft carrier mentioned in front of them, as there was a open hangar for them to jump into.

"Hold on, I'm going to jump it!" Chris exclaimed, as he slammed his foot on the gas pedal fully, as the jeep immediately shot over the harbour's ledge, as it rushed right into the hangar.

However, as it did, the jeep tilted significantly enough for the jeep to only land on one wheel, as it sent the entire vehicle into a spin, tossing its driver and passenger across the deck, as they seemed to be quite injured from the impact. Sanae was outright unconscious banging face-first with the metal ground, while Marisa was clutching her own chest from the immense pain

"Ow... Goddamnit..." Marisa groaned, as she struggled to resist the effects of banging her head against the deck and being hit hard in the torso on her landing, as her vision began to swim. "Next time... I should have... jumped out earlier..."

Marisa immediately lost consciousness, unable to withstand both the dizziness her own injury caused her, as well as the great amount of pain surging through her.


	12. Leon Chapter 7

Unmei Force: Infection

Leon Chapter 7: The Trail's Lead

* * *

_In one of the outdoor markets in the city..._

"Sherry said she was meeting Simmons in the Kwun Lung building, if I recall the conversation that you had with her." Hunnigan stated to Leon through the phone. "The first thing you're gonna need to do is to cut through the outdoor market up ahead."

"Got it." Leon stated, before turning off the phone, as he, Richard, Reisen, Helena swept through the market, checking for any zombies that might be lying in wait.

The group immediately passed by various abandoned market stalls, with various products in each of them, as they noticed the signs of struggle in the area, in the form of scattered plastic boxes, and the occasional chicken pecking along the wet pavement, as it immediately shuffled away from the group when they approached them.

When they heard something let out a strangled rasping sound, Richard immediately snapped his rifle in the direction of the sound, as he jogged right towards it, only to see that one of the unfortunate civilians was being chased by some sort of writhing humanoid creature, that Richard couldn't make out properly from the distance, as the targeted civilian immediately ran away, while the creature shuffled after it.

"Leon! We got unwelcome company in these parts!" Richard shouted.

"What was that...?" Helena questioned the others.

"Whatever it may be, I doubt that it would be friendly. If it comes after us, we might have to take it down." Reisen answered back.

Richard immediately took a closer look ahead, as he noticed that he found the way out of the market, although it was closed. When he ran up to it, he found that it has been locked behind a large green gate, with three padlocks keeping it shut. Leon immediately walked over, as he tried to shift each of the padlocks to no avail.

"Oh great. Three separate locks." Leon grumbled.

"Jesus. All right. Let's just figure out a way to open it." Helena stated, before Reisen immediately made her way to the map beside the gate.

"Kaz, could you help us understand this map?" Reisen stated, as Richard immediately nodded, examining it for a moment, looking at how the market was divided into three sections, one for seafood, one for meat products, and one for the other products.

"Hm..." Richard stated, before he immediately placed his finger on the map. "It seems that although worn out and faint, there are locations for the spare keys of these padlocks. They should be right here, here and here."

He pointed out the locations of the spare keys, as Leon immediately recorded them right into the phone's map function, before they heard the sound of something shuffling nearby, accompanied by the sound of squelching.

The group immediately turned their attention to a nearby pile of meat, as a severed pig head rolled across the ground off the pile, before black tentacles of flesh immediately wormed out of every orifice, as they morphed into arms that crawled towards them. And from the pile itself, a large mass of black slimy flesh came out as well, before it moulded into the form of a head and torso, as the arms joined up with it, allowing to crawl down onto the ground. The group was significantly disturbed by the grotesque emergence of the creature before them.

"What the hell...!?" Helena exclaimed, as she whipped out her side-arm.

"Guess that's why the whole street is on lock-down. The residents are trying to keep it out." Leon stated, as the creature immediately regurgitated from its own mouth, its own wriggling lower half, before placing it on the ground, as the other half flipped and spun around, before it was close enough to its other part, for ts flesh to knit and tie the whole creature together.

"Well, this one is different!" Helena exclaimed, as the creature immediately got up.

"Bastard is flexible as hell, and it can survive being in pieces...!" Richard exclaimed. "From how we can see it, it could fold into itself to enter small spaces, like a damn cat, but far more capable than them...! Not to mention that this was the same creature I saw chasing a civilian just then...! We have to get out of here as quickly as possible, before more of them find us here!"

"I suggest splitting up for the time being." Reisen proposed. "Two of the keys are of the west side of the market, while the third is on the far east side of the market. You handle taking the keys to the west. We'll find the key to the east...!"

"Alright. Take care, you two." Leon stated, as Richard and Reisen immediately went the opposite direction, as Leon and Helena attacked the creature, with Leon immediately blowing its upper half off with a point-blank shot-gun burst. After it had been bisected, they took out both of the halves, before they could act or rejoin with each other, before then continuing to the west.

As Leon immediately went into one of the shops to turn off an broken electrical wire that was in a puddle of water in front of a rusted gate where one of the spare keys were, Richard and Reisen encountered another creature. Richard used his military-grade knife to bisect the creature, before then stomping down on the head of the upper half with enough force to crush it, as Reisen took out the lower half with a close-range sniper shot.

Leon and Helena immediately bashed down the gate in front of them, as Helena picked up the spare key behind it, before they made their way to the produce section, in order to get the second key. Richard and Reisen were on the rooftops, as Reisen immediately jumped across the large gap in front of her with her enhanced agility and speed, allowing her to get to the other side, and allow her to open the gate for Richard.

Richard and Reisen went deeper into the market section, as they found that their key was inside a building, as both of them kicked the closed door down, finding a creature that was behind it, being knocked down by the very door itself. Richard ended its misery with a thrown grenade, that shredded it into pieces too small to survive, as Reisen went inside, and picked up the third key.

When they made their way back to the market exit, they regrouped with Leon and Helena, who got both of their keys on their side. Without another word, they immediately opened the padlocks one by one, before they forced the doors open, entering a small stall, which had a meat-grinder nearby, which was still running. As Richard made his way towards the exit, another of the flexible creatures appeared, as it pounced onto Richard, pushing him towards the meat-grinder.

"Rrgh...!" Richard growled, as he contested against the creature. "You think... that you're going to get me that easily...!?"

As the creature growled, Richard immediately placed both of his hands on the side of the creature, before immediately pulling the creature over him in one swift motion, as the creature was fed head-first right into the meat grinder, as it screamed while being fed into the machine, struggling to escape, although it was too late, as its blood flew everywhere and its flesh was being ground into meat paste into the bucket below the grinder.

Richard immediately wiped off the few drops of creature blood that got onto him, before he immediately rushed up to where the others were, as they got outside the market, and right into a small facility. As they did, they were all surprised, when a familiar figure was entering through one of the doors up the stairway.

Leon immediately spoke first. "Ada...?" He muttered with surprise, when he noticed that Ada gave them a brief look, before closing the door behind heer.

"...That looks like Ada... But she doesn't look the same as she did back in Tall Oaks..." Richard muttered. "Leon... Do you think...?"

"Let's follow her." Helena stated, as they all went up the stairs and through the door.

They soon found themselves in a room, which had a lot of digital servers inside of it, as the group listened carefully through the quiet beeping and whirring of each server, looking around for Ada. As Leon passed by a row of servers, Ada immediately walked by at the same place and pace he was. He immediately whipped around, as he and Helena chased after Ada.

"Ada...!" Leon shouted, as Ada looked at them for a moment, before there was another cry for her name.

"Ada!" Chris shouted, as Richard and Reisen came in time to see that Ada dodged a barrage of bullets aimed at her, as they hit the door behind, before she immediately used her grappling hook launcher to escape away from them.

"What the hell is going on...?" Helena asked.

"I don't know, but I think we should be quick if we want to get to the bottom of this." Richard answered back, before the gun-fire died down, replaced by the sound of quick footsteps that were fading away. "Let's hurry."

The four survivors immediately made their way through the catwalk, as they went downstairs, to a door that led them right into a small corridor, with one side filled with computer terminals, and sustenance pods for the twisted test subjects for the C-Virus. And on the other end of the corridor was a door that was leading into a elevator shaft. Leon immediately saw that the elevator itself was going down.

"We've gotta make it to that elevator!" Leon shouted. "Run!"

Before they could get far, they heard the sound of the door on the other side being kicked open, before they heard Chris's voice shouting. "Make a run for the elevator! Go!"

"Someone else is here...? Hostiles...?" Piers's voice remarked.

"Maybe a few of her pets. Ignore them. She's the target." Chris's voice stated clearly.

"...Who knows...?" Marisa responded back. "Either way, they don't sound like one, that I can be sure of."

"I could agree with Lisa there. What are you talking about-" Sanae's voice was about to say.

Richard and Reisen looked at each other silently, as they were surprised at how Marisa and Sanae were right here with them.

'_Looks like it's that point of the story..._' Richard thought to himself. '_I wonder who gets there first. Me or them...? Either way this is going to be interesting_.'

"Sounds like we're not alone in here." Leon remarked.

"Probably whoever was shooting at Ada. One more thing to worry about."

"Did I just hear..." Richard stated, before he shook his head firmly. "Never mind, these corridors aren't good for the hearing... We need to get across and quick. Who knows what these people have in store..."

"It would be wise that we make it there first. What I just heard... I don't think that they're here for the same reasons as we are..." Reisen answered back.

The four of them immediately ran down the corridor, as they could tell the other four were doing the same from the sound of muffled and hurried footsteps on the other side. Leon immediately looked up, as he saw that Ada, who was above them, holding some sort of device in their hands.

"Glad you could stop in. Like what I've done with the place?" Ada mocked, her voice ringing through the speakers in the room. As she spoke, the open door in front of them was immediately blocked by lasers, as the power conduits on the side immediately lit up. On top of that, the entire corridor began to produce lasers from near the door, in intricate patterns, as they rushed towards the four of them. "Hope you enjoy your stay. Ahahahaha..."

"I don't have time for your games..." Leon groaned.

"Mira! Shoot those damn things now!" Richard shouted.

"I doubt I have the time to prepare a shot accurate enough with how fast the lasers are coming, Kaz." Reisen answered back. "We're going to have to approach it close enough to get a clear shot."

"Damn it all... We have to get there first. WE HAVE TO!" Richard answered back.

"Yep, definitely him and her." Marisa's voice stated. "With those kind of words, it can't be anyone else."

"What should we do, Lisa...?" Sanae's voice asked Marisa.

"Well, I don't know what's right at the moment, but it's best for us that we get to this Ada first." Marisa's voice responded back.

Leon's group was immediately weaving through the lasers, as Richard managed to take out one of the power conduits with his assault rifle, before he heard the sound of a grenade exploding.

"Wait... Was that just a grenade exploding...!?" Richard exclaimed with shock. "Then that means...!"

Leon's group watched as Chris and the others immediately enter the elevator, as Chris immediately slammed the up button, causing the shutter doors in front of them to close.

Sanae and Marisa managed to briefly meet eyes with Richard and Reisen, as the four of them were shocked at what they were seeing. However, more to both Marisa's and Sanae's shock, Richard's expression morphed into one of respect and amazement in the last moment, before the doors closed completely.

'_You brilliant bitch, Marisa... You actually managed to get that one-in-a-million shot to work..._' Richard thought with sheer respect and awe at Marisa's accomplishment.

Helena managed to get close enough to the other power conduit, as she immediately smashed it, allowing the lasers to stop functioning, as the group escaped the corridor.

"Damn... Looks like they've made it here before us." Richard stated. "We'll have to take the stairs up."

The group immediately made their way up the stairs, before they burst through the door, and right into a room that was connected to a metal door in front of them, with the numbers '01' etched on it in white, with buttons on the side of it. Richard and Reisen made the initiative, pressing the buttons together, as the doors slid open, revealing the room behind it, which was divided into two sides, this time by a metallic wall with screens, with sustenance pods filled with more test subjects in them.

"What is this room...?" Helena asked.

"Don't know. And I don't like the look of it." Leon answered back, as he immediately made his way to the door on the other side, as he banged on it several times. "Locked."

"You don't say..." Richard remarked, before he looked around. "Help us find something that can get us out of here."

"Engaging locks. Testing for prototypes." The female synthetic voice of the system rang through the room. At the same time, Ada immediately entered the room on the other side of the doors, stopping right before the control console, and immediately inputting something into the console.

"Ada!" Leon shouted, before the screens immediately booted up, before they turned red, with the words 'WARNING' on it. As soon as the screens turned on, small flat drones, which had a large amount of legs around its circular body, as well as sliding across the floor like pucks, with a glowing blue centre.

"What are those...!?" Helena asked, before one of them approached her, as it immediately turned red, letting out a shrill beeping noise.

Reisen reacted fast, immediately shooting the triggered drone, as it harmlessly broke apart. "Don't let them get near you. They are potentially mobile detonation mines!" She warned everyone.

"We've been conducting such fascinating work here." Ada continued. "Why don't you have some fun with one of the new prototypes."

"What the hell is she thinking...!?" Helena desperately asked.

"I'll ask her once we catch her." Leon stated.

"First, we need to deal with these nuisances!" Richard shouted back. "Keep on taking out these things until we can find a way out!"

"Leon, Helena! Come in." Hunnigan stated. "I'm trying to get the lock open for you, but the security's pretty tight. I'll keep trying to hack it, but see if you can bypass it manually."

Helena immediately noticed that there was a active terminal nearby, as she immediately went to work on it. "You run interference. I'll work with Hunnigan to override security." She told the others.

"On it. Just make sure that you-" Richard was about to say.

"Security breach detected in Room One." The mechanical female voice stated.

"Crap...! Looks like they're of the same mindset. Don't get distracted, just hurry up and get to work, Helena! We need to get to Ada before whoever on the other side does!" Richard shouted.

As Helena immediately typed in various commands, the mechanical female voice immediately announced their progress. "Security breach in Room Zero." It declared.

As the group covered Helena, the two announcements of each room's security layers being breached rang in succession, although it was Room One that was getting the closest to success, despite Helena's best efforts. Eventually, the final security layer in Room One was broken through.

"Disengaging locks in Room One." The female voice stated, although all of the lights on the door in front of them was green, yet the doors were still closed.

"Tch, we were too slow." Reisen clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Someone doesn't want us to catch Ada. She might not be working alone." Leon remarked.

"No shit. Looks like it might be the same ones who beat us to the elevator. Still... It looks fine to get through. Let's hurry." Richard stated, as he immediately approached the door.

As soon as he did, the door's light immediately turned red, as they flashed erratically, and a deep alarm sounded.

"Engaging locks. Testing for prototypes." The mechanical female voice sounded, a lot more distorted than it was before.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" Richard swore out loud, as he booted the door with his foot, as many drones immediately swarmed into the room. The group immediately made quick work of them, before the doors finally opened.

"Disengaging locks." The female voice sounded, as it died down while distorting more.

When they got into the room, the doors out were locked, as Richard growled. Leon immediately noticed that there was a small grate for them to go through, as he pulled it off, as they crawled through it one by one, before they saw Ada being chased by Chris and his group.

"Give it up, Ada! It's over!" Chris exclaimed.

"Oh, is the big,bad soldier going to shoot me?" Ada teased, as she continued to run.

"After them!" Richard shouted, as the group ran through the catwalk above the agent and the soldiers, as well as Marisa and Sanae.

They all went around a corner, just as Ada managed to throw a few smoke grenades, which slowed Chris's group down. As they tried to get the smoke out of their eyes and lungs, Ada immediately reached a point where she could swing from with her grappling gun. "It's been fun. Ciao."

"Ada!" Chris growled, as Ada immediately fired her grappling hook launcher, before escaping right on the other side of the catwalks, before she immediately started running towards the gate.

Leon's group immediately made their way, as they could see Chris's group on their right side, below them.

"Don't lose her, Piers!" Chris shouted.

"I won't!" Piers stated, as the two of them immediately picked up the pace.

"Crap, she's going to get away at this point!" Marisa exclaimed.

"Ada!" Leon's voice could be heard, as Sanae turned towards it.

"Your friend likes to play hard to get. She always been like this?" Helena asked Leon.

"Either way, we can't let those soldiers get to her. I'll deal with my own men. You just stop them from getting to Ada first!" Richard shouted back.

"There she is! Cut her off!" Chris shouted, as he took one of the paths around.

"I've got her!" Piers responded back, as he took the other path, as Sanae and Marisa also split up to help the respective operatives out.

As soon as Chris managed to get her right in front of her, Ada tried to turn around to shake him off, before Piers immediately fired his rifle right at the ground in front of her, with Marisa immediately readying her grenade launcher, ready to blow the catwalk in front of her to stop her from taking the path, if she had to.

The four of them immediately approached closer to Ada, with their weapons drawn, as Ada regarded the both sides that she was trapped by, as she remained still.

Leon's group immediately took this as a chance to drop down quietly, as Leon and Helena snuck behind Chris and Sanae, while Richard and Reisen snuck behind Piers and Marisa.

As soon as Chris readied his rifle, the four of them immediately sprung their ambush. Leon immediately pounced from behind, smacking the gun right out of Chris's hands, as it fired off prematurely, as the rifle immediately went over the railing. Sanae was about to react towards Leon, turning towards him. However, before she could even turn around in time, there was a sudden gunshot that immediately hit Sanae's rifle hard enough for it to be knocked out of her hands, surprising her greatly, as she looked around, before noticing that Reisen was right behind Marisa.

Speaking of Marisa, when she heard the gunshot, she was about to whirl around, before she was immediately grappled from behind by the neck with a firm arm. Marisa was almost about to start struggling, before she noticed the person who was holding her, Richard, as his other hand held a side-arm pointed threateningly at Piers, who noticed that his ally was being held captive too late. Reisen immediately aimed her rifle at Chris.

"Kaz...?" Marisa croaked, her voice strained from the grip around her neck.

"_Sorry, Marisa... But this was the only way that I can ensure that neither of us get shot, and we don't blow our covers. Just play along for this one._" Richard harshly whispered in Marisa's ear, only loud enough for her to hear, not Piers.

"_Damnit, Richard... You truly owe me for this one..._" Marisa hissed back.

Richard merely gave her a acknowledging look, as Chris and Leon immediately fought with each other, as they tried to strike at each other, missing each other, before Leon immediately went for a hold, only to be countered by Chris, who immediately clasped Leon's right arm, and threw him in front with a forward throw, as Leon rolled across the ground, before springing up and whipping out his side-arm, just as Chris did the same with his, the two men standing off with each other.

As they immediately took a good look at each other, Leon spoke first. "Chris...!"

"Leon...?" Chris muttered with genuine shock. "What are you doing here?"

Before Leon could answer, Helena immediately ran across the pathway, before she immediately trained her gun right at Sanae, as she immediately reeled back, and placed her hands up in surrender. Piers noticed this, as he immediately readied his rifle, before he heard Richard give off a audible cough for attention.

"Put that gun down, or you're going to die before you get the first shot." Richard threatened coldly. "Don't tempt me."

Piers immediately looked back, as he regarded Richard for a moment, as he slightly loosened up, but refusing to drop the gun. Richard didn't move either, as there was only silence, as Ada looked at the entire situation with amusement.

"Put your gun down, Chris." Leon stated. "She's a key witness. We need her."

"A witness!? She's the one who did all of this!" Chris shouted back.

"Oh, that's what you think...!?" Richard exclaimed, as he immediately shifted his aim towards Chris, earning his attention. "The only reason that she's important to us, is because she's our only hope of pinning fucking Derek Simmons for all of this shit! If you want to say that Ada is responsible for this, then she's his accomplice. Killing her means the trail goes cold turkey. And if that happens... I will blow your head out if you ruined my only chance at ending his scummy life with my own hands."

"What...!?" Chris growled, before turning to Leon. "What is he talking about...!"

"It wasn't her, Chris. It was Simmons, the National Security Advisor." Leon responded back.

"I lost almost all of my men because of her!" Chris screamed back.

"And I lost over 70000 people, including the president, because of Simmons!" Leon argued back.

"And Simmons fucking killed more than what your damn squad could compose of! He fucking tortured and killed almost my entire company of mercenaries!" Richard yelled back. "If you dare to try and ruin things for me, I don't care if you're the fucking saviour of the world, I will personally end your damn life before you even take a step out of the building, and I won't give mercy at all!"

Ada merely looked around, as she immediately rummaged for something with her hands, although she was immediately warned by a shot from Reisen that slammed right into the wall behind her, grazing her waist.

"Don't move." Reisen stated. "If you try anything, I will take out both of your arms."

Richard immediately looked down at Marisa. "Now, while we try to determine the values of keeping or killing Ada, let me ask you a damn question, Lisa: Why the hell are you following after these damn bastards? I expected to meet back up with you two eventually, but not in these circumstances. So explain yourselves. Now." He demanded.

"We found them while we landed right in this place, thanks to some goddamn incident that crashed up right in the middle of this hell-hole." Marisa stated, before glaring at Chris. "We met this bastard, and I whole-heartedly agree with your assessment of him for once. He literally got his damn team killed trying to hunt down one of the biological monstrosity. We managed to save his last man by luck and instinct. And now he's after Ada, because he believes that she's responsible for what happened to him. We're following him, because Grant told us to, and that we might be able to find interesting things if we follow him."

"We're sorry for not notifying you earlier, but we had our suspicions when we heard you guys in the facility itself." Sanae responded back.

"Tch. I see." Richard responded back, before he immediately released Marisa, and lowered his gun. "Well, that's all I need to hear. Then as long as any of you don't try anything stupid, then we might have a chance to discuss all of this like proper men."

"She's working for Neo-Umbrella, Leon." Chris stated. "You know what that means?"

"Yeah, I do." Leon nodded back solemnly.

"And you're still going to protect this woman?" Chris asked firmly.

"...I am." Leon responded back with a steely gaze back.

As they went into silence again, Ada merely waited for a few moments, before she immediately snapped her hand right into her coat, producing a flash-bang grenade, whose pin is already pulled out, before chucking it out.

"Captain!" Piers shouted in warning, as Chris and Leon immediately turned their attention to Ada, just as the flashbang exploded on contact with the ground, blinding everyone with the bright light, and a loud ringing sound, as everyone tried to regain their sight and hearing. When they did, they saw that Ada was right down on the ground, as she looked back at the group with a sly expression.

"Freeze!" Piers shouted, as he raised his rifle, and fired at Ada, who immediately ran away from the gunfire, before she immediately disappeared again. "Damnit!"

Piers immediately ran after Ada, down the stairs, as Helena immediately went after Piers as well.

"Helena!" Leon shouted.

"He's going to kill her!" Helena exclaimed back.

Chris immediately ran after Piers, before he was stopped by Leon. "Chris, wait." Leon stated. "We both want the same thing here."

"...Alright. The BSAA will handle Ada." Chris calmly responded back. "You take care of Simmons."

Leon immediately nodded, satisfied with the answer, before he immediately moved aside, as Chris immediately went down to follow Piers. "I know that you'll do the right thing." He muttered, as Chris went down.

Richard immediately looked at Marisa and Sanae, as they looked back at him. After a few moments, he immediately nodded.

"...Continue following them. We might be able to find another way to incriminate Simmons without Ada." Richard assured the both of them. "Although, take my word that this might not be Ada that we're dealing with right now. After all, we just fought alongside her a day before. And this Ada is nothing alike the one yesterday."

"...Okay." Sanae nodded, before the two of them immediately rushed down the stairs.

"Are you sure we can rely on him?" Helena asked Leon.

"He's been in this as long as I have, Helena." Leon responded back. "I trust him to keep his word."

"Alright." Helena nodded, before he turned to Richard and Reisen. "I take it that the other two were more friends of yours?"

"You mean my subordinates. But yeah, I do." Richard stated. "I'm sure that no matter how stubborn that this Chris can get, Lisa and Sanae can keep him in check. So I'm sure that the truth will come to light. Speaking of which, I don't think that was Ada back there."

"You don't...?" Leon asked, curious about Richard's statement.

"Let's disregard the way that she was dressed, as that was a glaring difference to what we seen her as yesterday." Richard responded back. "Even if she was trying to shake off Chris and the others, one, she wouldn't drag us into the same mess as they are in, and two, she would not be using lethal means to take us down."

"How do you know of this...?" Leon asked.

"Leon, there is a lot that you can tell from someone, even if it's a brief time with them, from their actions." Richard answered back. "Surely you can say that my theories are mostly true, yes...?"

Leon remained silent, before Richard merely closed his eyes in silence.

"I see. Alright, let's take down Simmons. He's got nowhere to run this time. He'll pay for his crimes. And we'll see to it that he does." Richard answered back.

They soon made their way downstairs, as Leon and Helena received a call from Hunnigan.

"Leon, Helena. Come in." Hunnigan stated. "If Sherry's intel is on the money, Simmons should be just up ahead. Be careful, Hunnigan out."

As they made their way outside, they sprinted across the path ahead.

"Leon, are you really sure you're OK with this?" Helena asked Leon.

"Our target is Simmons. Always been." Leon answered back.

"You don't regret not following her, do you?" Helena answered back.

"Whatever matters that Leon has with Ada will have to wait. Simmons is the higher priority here. If he escapes, who knows when there will be another chance that we can find and corner him?" Reisen argued back. "And how many lives will be destroyed in the time it takes?"

"...You're right, Mira." Helena nodded, as there was a angered look on her face. "Let's go get that son of a bitch."

When they reached the doors of the Kwun Lung building, they stacked up against the door, before Leon pushed it open slowly, before they too slowly entered through it, as they looked around for Simmons. When Helena caught sight of Simmons, she immediately pointed her gun at Simmons.

"Simmons!" Helena exclaimed, as everyone turned towards Simmons, who was standing above them, surrounded by bodyguards.

"Well, this is unexpected." Simmons remarked.

"SIMMONS!" Richard roared with fury, as he pointed his rifle at Simmons with his rifle.

At the moment just after that, Jake, Sherry, Meiling and Gus burst through another set of doors into the building.

"No, Wait!" Sherry shouted, as she ran in.

"Ah, Agent Birkin." Simmons stated. "Impeccable timing. Kindly take these two into custody, won't you? Do as you wish with the two mercenaries with them."

"Don't you fucking dare!" Richard shouted, flicking his eyes towards Sherry. "If you try to even point your gun at me, I'll point mine right back at YOU!"

"Calm down, Kaz!" Gus responded back. "She won't be like that!"

"They said that you were involved in the terrorist attack. Is it true?" Sherry asked frantically.

"What, are they running down the streets, screaming it to anyone who'll listen!?" Simmons hissed back.

"FUCK OFF! Anyone who has a damn brain inside their head would be smart enough to figure out what you have done, you fucking psychopath!" Richard shouted back with anger.

"Answer me!" Sherry demanded.

Simmons remained silent for a few moments, before he then sighed deeply. "It's for the benefit of the United States and global security." He stated, before a sniper shot whizzed past his face, creating a small gash that surprised him.

"You are a pathetic liar, Derek Simmons." Reisen coldly responded back. "Killing off the president of the United States is high treason, and an act of defiance to world peace and equality. You are merely a opportunistic back-stabber and megalomaniac. You are unfit to bother justifying your actions."

Sherry looked at Reisen with shock, as Gus was stunned as well, before she turned back to Simmons. "The president's dead...?" She asked with disbelief.

"Well, we have Leon to thank for that." Simmons scoffed.

"Goddamn you, Simmons!" Helena growled.

"Dispose of them." Simmons grunted, as the body-guards immediately opened fire, causing all of them immediately run for cover, as Jake grabbed Sherry by the waist, and lunged behind one of the wider columns in the wall, as the others took up positions behind their respective pillars.

"Hold your fire!" Simmons ordered, as the body-guards did so, as he pointed where Jake and Sherry hid themselves. "These two are still of use to us-"

"SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT, ASSHOLE!" Richard shouted, as he and Reisen shifted out of cover, and fired at the body-guards and Simmons, causing the Chief Advisor to immediately retreat back, as several of his body-guards was killed in the retaliatory fire, before they opened fire again.

As the gun-fire rained down upon them, with Richard, Reisen, Gus and Meiling firing back to suppress the numerous body-guards ahead of them, Leon, Helena, Sherry and Jake immediately gathered together in a place safe from the firefight occurring right now.

"You need to be more careful." Leon told Sherry.

"All right, all right. So what's the plan, hero?" Jake asked.

"You think you can make it to that door?" Leon asked, signalling towards one of the far doors in the building. "With our friends attracting their attention mostly, it should be relatively safe to get there quickly."

"Why don't we just waste them? Your friends, Grant and Ling are doing a fairly good job at it!" Jake retorted back, as he looked at how the four of them were cutting through the numbers of body-guards that were guarding Simmons.

"Because I need you to take care of Sherry, in case something happens." Leon argued back.

"Then what are you two going to do?" Sherry asked.

"Finish Simmons. That's the only thing left for us." Helena stated with a vengeful expression.

Sherry was silent for a moment, before she then immediately pulled out the same data drive that they uploaded the virus data from the Neo-Umbrella facility onto. "There's information on here that could stop the C-Virus. Simmons wants it. Take it, Leon." Sherry stated, before handing it to Leon, who placed it in a secure place.

"Thanks." Leon stated, before he then immediately pulled out his side-arm, as Helena did the same. "I'll put a call in to FOS, get you some protection. Now move!"

Richard immediately turned to Gus, as Leon and Helena joined the fight, and Jake and Sherry made a mad sprint for the door on the other side of the building.

"Grant, Ling. Let us take care of this. You continue to help those two out! They're going to need some help where they're going!" Richard ordered Gus and Meiling.

"But what about you... Kaz!?" Gus shouted back.

"You know me better to misjudge these kinds of situations! GO! Before it's too late!" Richard shouted back.

Gus grunted back with a worried expression, before he immediately signalled for Meiling to follow after him, as they followed after Sherry and Jake.

Richard, Reisen, Leon and Helena were dropping the body-guards of Simmons one by one, as they made their way closer towards him, before Richard caught a glimpse of Simmons being jabbed in the neck with some sort of white dart filled with a biological fluid, as he stumbled around, before pulling it out, looking at it closely.

"She got me..." Simmons growled, before she smashed it on the ground, as she stumbled away from the fight. "Well... played..."

"Simmons is getting away...!" Richard shouted.

"Come on!" Leon shouted, as the four of them immediately rushed through the gun-fire, as they ran after Simmons.

Simmons immediately fell onto a moving train, landing fairly balanced, as he got up slowly, clenching the part of the neck which was hit by the viral dart. The four immediately waited for an empty carriage to come, before they ran and jumped onto it together.

"Simmons!" Leon shouted.

"Get back here!" Helena shouted.

"YOU WON'T LIVE TO GET AWAY AGAIN, SIMMONS! EITHER YOU ROT FOR YOUR LIFE BEHIND BARS, OR YOUR BODY WILL BE BURIED IN A UNMARKED GRAVE, RIDDLED WITH THE BULLETS OF MY VENGEANCE!" Richard screamed with pure fury.

The group immediately went into the train, as they chased after Simmons, who shuffled atop the train itself.


	13. Leon Chapter 8

Unmei Force Infection

Leon Chapter 8: The Real Nightmare Begins

* * *

_Inside one of the trains..._

Leon, Richard, Reisen and Helena were rushing through the various rooms, as they were after Simmons, who was on top of the train.

"We can't let him escape!" Helena exclaimed.

"We won't. We're ending this now." Leon answered back.

"I concur to that. Simmons have nowhere to run this time." Richard stated, before he slammed open one of the carriage doors. "You hear that, Simmons? You're through!"

"Look, there's an open cover where we can get atop from!" Reisen shouted, pointing that the cover on the ceiling of their current carriage was open.

Leon immediately boosted Helena up, as she immediately pulled the others up one by one, just in time to see Simmons crush his own phone in his hand. The four of them immediately raised their weapons.

"Give it up, Simmons! We've got you." Leon shouted.

"You still chase me while that woman is on the loose?" Simmons growled, as his voice was several tones deeper due to the infection spreading in him.

"What woman?" Leon asked back.

"That traitor, Ada Wong!" Simmons snarled. "Who knows what she's got in store."

"Talk all you want, Simmons. But your words mean nothing to me." Richard sneered back. "I only care about one thing at this point: YOU."

"Another team was sent after her." Leon answered back coolly to Simmons. "But you, Simmons, you're all ours."

"Are you here to avenge the president? Is that it? You fool." Simmons scoffed. "Had he disclosed the truth behind Raccoon City, the U.S would have lost all of its authority, and the global political order would have collapsed!"

Richard's hands were shaking on his rifle, as his eyes showed that he was completely livid, as Helena immediately tightened her grip on her gun.

"So to avoid one possible disaster, you create another!?" Helena exclaimed in outrage. "No matter how many people die!"

"He had to be stopped!" Simmons roared. "He was leading my country, and this world into complete chaos-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Richard immediately bellowed out in fury, as he fired his rifle in full-auto, hitting Simmons with a barrage of shots.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UUUUPPPP!" Richard screamed in fury. "I TIRE OF YOUR FUCKING EXCUSES! YOU WILL PAY, SIMMONS! YOU WILL PAY, EVEN IF I HAVE TO PULP YOU TO ENSURE YOU REMAIN DEAD!"

Simmons immediately cried in pain, as he fell backwards from the force of the bullets hitting him. As he did however, his body immediately burned up in great flames, as his upper clothes were complete burned off, revealing his bare torso, as his skin had veins bulged all over him. He immediately got up slowly, much to everyone's surprise.

"You... YOU..." Simmons growled in a low voice, before he let out a bellow of his own, as various fissures appeared all over his body, before they immediately split open, revealing the contents inside, organs, muscle and bone. As his body split apart, they immediately shuffled around each other, before creating a flesh-and-bone mockery of a feral quadrilateral animal.

"...The virus... It's causing him to transform like this...!" Reisen stated.

The beast that was Derek immediately pounced at them, as they immediately split apart to avoid its attack. As soon as it landed, it immediately swivelled, as its bony claws scraped against the metal roof of the train hard enough to kick up sparks, before it roared again.

"Damn you...!" Helena cursed, as the group immediately started firing at the beast Derek.

Their gunfire was sufficient enough to deal enough damage to him, to stun him, as he reared up, before his body immediately returned back to his human form.

"Let's get some distance while we have the chance!" Leon shouted, as he immediately shot past Derek.

Helena, Richard and Reisen immediately followed after him, but not before Richard immediately smashed Derek with a running lariat, knocking the mutated perpetrator flat on the train roof. They immediately hopped back into the train, as Derek immediately got himself back up just when they all were back inside the train.

"Damn you! Damn you all! I'll kill you with my bare hands!" Derek roared, as he immediately morphed back into his beast form, smashing the roof of the train with enough force to cave it in, landing right down where the others were, before he immediately screeched, before rushing at them.

As the group moved back through the train, they fired back in order to slow Derek down, before Richard managed to find a open train door that could be used to get back on top with.

"Moving atop!" Richard shouted, before he immediately grabbed the top edge of the doors, before immediately flipping himself atop the roof of the train. "Mira! Up here as well."

Reisen immediately complied, as Leon and Helena watched her go, and Leon turned up to shout at Richard. "Hey, what are you doing...!?" Leon shouted back, as they fought against the beast Derek.

"He might try to crawl his way to the top of the train!" Richard shouted. "You guys stay down here, while we remain up here! This way, no matter where Simmons goes, he's got people on him!"

Simmons immediately slammed down on the train, causing it to jostle slightly, before he immediately crawled around the train itself to the top, in front of Leon and Helena.

"Case in point." Leon hummed, as Richard and Reisen immediately made their first shots on Simmons.

"Come on, Simmons! What's all that talk about killing us earlier!?" Richard mocked, as he fired his shots right at the large head of the beast Derek. "Once a slimy bastard! Always a slimy bastard!"

Derek immediately morphed back into his human form, after taking enough damage from the duo, as he glared at the two of them with hate. "I'll kill you, you pathetic mercenary!" He threatened.

However, due to being dazed, he was unable to prepare against Richard's own attack, as he immediately ran up to him, and kicked him down with a roundhouse kick that caused him to lie flat on the ground. Richard immediately mounted him, before throwing a flurry of hooks right on Derek's head.

"You're pathetic! Even as a fucking mutant, you're nothing!" Richard taunted, accentuating his words with his blows. "You always couldn't take the shit that you can do!"

Before Richard could land another blow, he was hit hard by a burst of steam from Derek's body, knocking him off, as he flipped back onto his feet, as Derek transformed back into his beast form, before then jumping down through the hole he made, and facing Leon and Helena. However, Leon already set up a few remote bombs where Derek had landed, as he detonated them simultaneously, hitting Derek severely, as Helena immediately fired her shotgun close-range in order to stun Derek once again, and expose him once again in human form.

"You scurry about like insects... Scared and weak!" Derek screamed back.

"You're the only weak one here, and you tried to run from us." Leon coldly answered back, before he knocked Derek down with a running knee-strike. "I wonder who is the coward here, Simmons."

Helena immediately rushed up to Simmons, as she mounted him and smacked him with rage-filled punches to the head for as long as she could, before she was blown off by a steam burst, as Derek immediately turned back into his beast form. He immediately then charged at both Leon and Helena, as Reisen immediately stood by the open cover, raising both arms out for Helena and Leon to grab onto. They each grabbed one of Reisen's hands, and were surprised as she pulled them both together out of the train, just before Derek's charge could hit them.

Derek then immediately climbed on top from behind them, as Richard immediately shot him while he climbed up, before he was joined by the other three, who pelted Derek with enough gun-fire to cause him to retreat back into his human form.

"Impossible...!" Derek exclaimed, as he was on the ground, kneeling from the damage he sustained. "You can't possibly be able to defeat me like this!"

"Nothing is impossible, and the karma owed to you is long due." Reisen stated, as she loaded her sniper rifle, before aiming for Derek's head and firing.

The high-calibre sniper round immediately struck Simmons's forehead, as he screamed in agony, as he fell backwards, before turning still.

"Helena, are you alright?" Leon asked.

"Did we... kill him?" Helena questioned the others.

"Sure hope we did. There is no way that we can imprison him now." Richard answered back, before he immediately walked towards Simmons. "Only choice now is to ensure that he stays dead. Allow me to make sure of that-"

Before he could even finish, Simmons immediately bent back up on his feet, before clutching Richard by the neck, as the black-haired survivor, clutched at the hand choking him by the throat.

"Kaz!" Reisen stated, as she immediately readied herself to fire again, only for Simmons to throw Richard right onto another train that was picking up pace alongside the one they were standing on, as he rolled across the empty carriage he landed on. Simmons immediately transformed back into his beast form, except with the addition of a spinal attachment, that seemed to look like a flesh-made gun turret, with bone needles protruding out the front of it. As Richard got up on his feet, Simmons immediately jumped across to where Richard was.

"Tell me I'm seeing things...!" Helena exclaimed. "Kaz, move! He's coming for you!"

"No need to tell me twice!" Richard stated. "And that thing on him looks nasty!"

He immediately started running through the train, as Simmons chased after him, his spinal turret immediately firing off barrage of bone needles at Richard. As they, Helena, Reisen and Leon supported him by shooting Simmons to slow him down, until Richard managed to reach atop the roof of one of the train's carriages, as the other three were atop the carriage aside it.

"Kaz! Make the jump! We'll get you up if you hit the ledge!" Leon shouted.

"Got it! Here goes...!" Richard shouted, before he immediately backed up a little, before making a running jump, and managing to catch the railing atop the train carriage, as the others immediately helped to pull him up.

"You worthless ignorant slugs! I'll tear you all to pieces!" Simmons roared in a much deeper voice than before, as his spinal attachment immediately extended into a large sawed spear of bone, as he immediately lunged at Richard. Richard immediately pulled himself up, before rolling out of the way of the spear, as it hit the roof. When Simmons jerked his spear off, it tore the entire carriage roof off, dropping the four survivors inside the damaged carriage.

"Our fun has come to an end!" Simmons growled, as his bone spear immediately shaped back into a needle launcher, before immediately firing at the group, who ducked behind cover.

"Shoot that damn bastard with everything we got!" Richard shouted, as he immediately slammed another clip into his assault rifle, before firing back at Simmons, aiming to destroy the spinal launcher, as the others focused fire on it as well.

"How about I reunite you with your sister, Agent Harper?" Simmons taunted, as he immediately shifted his aim towards Helena, who ducked in time to avoid the barrage of shots, as Reisen immediately fired a shot right at the launcher, causing him great pain. "Damn you...!"

He immediately morphed his launcher back into a bone spear, before skewering through a section of the carriage wall, before tearing it off, reducing the amount of cover that the group could use.

"Surely you are capable of more than this, Leon!" Simmons exclaimed. "And as for you puny mercenaries, I will enjoy tearing you to pieces!"

"Over our dead bodies, you opportunistic FUCK!" Richard shouted back, as he immediately threw a grenade right at Simmons's needle launcher, as it managed to explode, dealing massive damage to it, as Simmons flinched once again.

"Can you hear it? The C-Virus is screaming to be released! It will not be controlled!" Simmons screamed out, before he immediately skewered through another section of the carriage, right where Helena is, as she barely managed to avoid the spear that was aiming to impale her through it.

"Keep shooting!" Leon shouted, as the group kept on firing onto Simmons, as he was beginning to slow down due to his accumulating injuries, before he immediately jumped right into the carriage through the gaps that he created in the carriage, as Richard kept on firing at Simmons, in order to repel him.

"Nowhere to run now!" Simmons shouted, as he immediately stomped over towards the group. Leon and Helena immediately used the open door beside them to get atop the carriage. He then immediately swiped at Richard and Reisen, who were still in the train, as they dodged under the attack, before then using the open carriage doors to get on top.

As the group looked around for Simmons, and found themselves on one of the bridges over the large river dividing the cities, they saw him jump out of the carriage, right into the path of a oncoming train. Simmons didn't seem to be concerned, as he immediately turned his spinal launcher back into a bone spear, as he used it to bat aside the train with a mighty swipe, as the frontmost train carriage flew towards the group, as they immediately moved out of its trajectory, and the rest of the train was knocked aside right into the ocean, creating a massive splash.

Simmons himself immediately sprinted in front of the train, before doing a spinning turn to face the train. "This is the end of the line!" Simmons growled, before his bone spear turned back into a needle launcher, as he rushed at them. "Leon!"

"Simmons!" Leon shouted back, as the group immediately fired at Simmons with everything they had, as they weathered the hail of bone needles that were hitting them, as the train immediately crashed into Simmons. Surprisingly, instead of being shaken off the tracks, Simmons was immediately knocked into the air, as he shifted back to human form, hitting the roof several times, and flipping around, before landing on his back, groaning in pain. Everyone immediately aimed their weapons at him, expecting him to get up and attack again.

Simmons slowly got up into a crawl, before pushing himself up with one arm, as his entire body was beginning to bleed. "You... have no idea..."

Simmons then immediately morphed back into his beast form, as his head was right on top of the spinal launcher now. "...What would happen if I DIE!"

"The world would be a better place!" Leon shouted.

"And no more will die for your twisted ambitions!" Richard screamed. "IT'S YOUR TURN TO DIE, SIMMONS!"

Simmons bellowed out, before he immediately smashed the roof, knocking a large piece of the metal roof off. He then smashed it, sending it flying at the group. Leon immediately raised his pistol to shoot it, before he saw Richard move before him, as he immediately spun on his heels, and did a side-kick that slammed right into the flat side of the jagged metal panel, sending it right back at Simmons, surprising the mutated conspirator, as he was hit by it right in the body, staggering him.

At the same time, Helena and Reisen fired, as both the hand-gun and sniper round immediately travelled towards Simmons's exposed head, before they both struck their target with precise accuracy, as Simmons let out a guttural cry of agony, as he collapsed on the ground, his head immediately falling to the ground.

Before any of the survivors could fire again, they heard another helicopter fly towards them, as the lights on it swept through the train's roof, and Simmons looked up towards the helicopter, as he saw that one of his bodyguards was looking out of the door of the helicopter, before said bodyguard turned to the pilot. "Leave him!" He declared, as the helicopter immediately moved away from the moving train.

"No!" Simmons cried out in betrayal. "How could my Family abandon meeeee!?"

Richard immediately took the opportunity to immediately make a running dash towards Simmons, just as Leon noticed what Richard was going to do. "Kaz, wait-" He was about to say.

Richard immediately jumped off the roof of the train, as he cocked back his right fist, eyes aimed at Simmons's head. "DIE, SIMMONS!" Richard screamed, before he immediately slammed his fist right into the side of Simmons's head. The force behind the attack managed to send Simmons reeling opposite of the direction that he was struck, as he immediately slipped off the roof, and right into the path of the train, as he was ground under the train itself, kicking up a spray of blood and torn flesh from under the train.

However, Simmons's body managed to cause enough of a disruption on the train's balance to cause it to shift slightly, before that slight shift immediately cascaded into a series of weaving and bobbing, each time more violent than before, indicating that the train was going to be inevitably derailed soon. The group immediately noticed this, as they moved to the back of the carriage, which was the closest to the edge of the bridge they were riding on.

"JUMP!" Helena cried out, before she immediately jumped off the train, and right into the river below. The others followed quickly after, as the train immediately derailed ahead of them, and sunk right into the water.

As soon the group hit the water, they immediately crawled back up through the water, before they gulped for air, and then swimming to the closest accessible ledge to get them back onto dry land. When they found it, they crawled back onto land, as Richard immediately flopped onto his back, as he was panting heavily. As Leon shook the water from his head, he immediately heard someone ahead of them.

"Echo Team to HQ. Come in." A male soldier called out through his own comms. "We're escorting civilians in Tatchi to safety."

Leon then looked back at where they swam from, as there was a large plume of smoke arising from the location. Reisen and Helena did the same, before then being followed by Richard, who finally recovered his stamina and got up after the others did.

"Did we finish it...?" Helena asked.

"Damn right it should..." Richard answered back, before Leon glared at him. Richard immediately turned to Leon. "I don't care what you have to say. That bastard will die. I don't care what I have to do. Call me a unfair bastard for slugging him while he's monologuing and lamenting about being back-stabbed by his men, but this way, this bastard is sure to have been ground into meat paste from being crushed under the moving train. This will finish him. Unless he's nearly fucking immortal thanks to the damn virus."

"...Hm. We did what we could, and that's what matters for now." Leon answered back.

"Right, come on. We need to see what's going on right now." Richard stated, as they made their way up to the streets.

When they reached the end of the stairs up, they could see that there were soldiers who were escorting troubled civilians through the streets, led by a military jeep, as all of the men present had the tell-tale BSAA shoulder patches, assuring Leon and Helena that they were friendly. The soldiers were guiding the civilians with quick orders, as the group watched them pass by them.

"Is it over...?" Helena asked.

"Yeah..." Leon stated. "It's over."

However, much to their disdain, Leon and Helena immediately received a call from Hunnigan through their comms. "Leon, we have a situation." She announced. "Sherry and her companions have been abducted. Our satellite places them at an undersea oil field about 80 miles from you."

"Abducted? Why?" Leon asked, attracting Richard's and Reisen's attention.

"Who's been abducted...!?" Richard demanded back at Leon.

"Sherry, and possibly your own companions." Leon clearly explained, causing Richard to pale slightly, as Reisen's eyes showed worry.

"This is not good... We have to help them out-" Reisen stated, before Helena realised something.

"The files...!" Helena stated. "The ones she gave us!"

Leon immediately knew what Helena was referring to, as he pulled out the data chip that Sherry given them, before inserting it into her phone, as it immediately showed information regarding the C-Virus experiments, as Leon froze when he reached a certain part of it.

"Wait a minute..." Helena stated. "This is the key to stopping the C-Virus. It's...!"

"Jake...!" Leon stated, as the picture of Jake was inside the phone right now, before he immediately opened up a channel to Hunnigan. "Hunnigan, could you check and see if the BSAA has any units near the oil field?"

"Just one moment." Hunnigan answered back, as Reisen could hear the sound of something flying through the sky above them, with the ominous sound of burning engines accompanying it. She immediately looked around for the source of the sound, as she could see that there was some sort of flashing object above them, as it had a dark orange hue to it.

"Helena...! Look!" Reisen hissed to Helena, who immediately turned around, and looked up to see the same thing that Reisen was seeing.

"What is that...?" Helena asked.

"Judging by the appearance, and the faint sounds emanating from it in the skies..." Reisen stated. "There is a high chance that this is a launched war-head. But where is its target...? And what is its purpose...?"

"OK, I've got a Chris Redfield on the line. Patching you through to his aircraft." Hunnigan answered back, to which Leon muttered the name under his breath in surprise.

"Leon? Leon, where are you!?" Chris demanded through the comms.

"Chris! We're just outside of Tatchi, why?" Leon answered back quickly.

"Get the hell out of there!" Chris yelled, as Helena and Reisen saw that the flying object was getting closer towards their position, and it seemed to be much more clearer than before. Reisen squinted her eyes, before they widened as she could finally discern the object in flight.

"Leon! It's a warhead-" Reisen shouted, before there was the distant sound of a explosion, as the missile was replaced by the sound of a expanding cloud of blue gas, which caused the survivors to feel utter dread, as they recognised the gas, to be the same one that the pore-like creatures they found in Tall Oaks Cathedral and the airplane to China, the same gas that infected people by inhalation.

"Holy shit...!" Richard swore. "They... They literally dropped a bomb topped up with biological agent into the city...!"

"Leon? Leon! Are you alright!?" Chris shouted through the comms.

"Yeah... But things just got bad. Real bad!" Leon responded back, as the explosion and the gas seemed to have managed to scare off the evacuating civilians, as they rushed the opposite direction, screaming and flailing, as the sounds of zombies approaching could be heard, as they saw the BSAA forces fight off the rushing zombies, but with a few causalities of their own.

"Damn it!" Chris swore, as the sound of him slamming his fist against something could be heard, accompanying his voice.

"Chris, listen to me! I need you to rescue two hostages from an underwater oil field." Leon requested. "Agent Sherry Birkin and Jake Muller. He's Albert Wesker's son. There are also two others that are also in need of rescue. Their names are Grant and Ling, and they are the comrades of the two mercenaries that are accompanying us right now. "

"...Wesker...!?" Chris asked with disbelief.

"Chris, he's got the antibodies for the C-Virus." Leon stated.

"I got it. On my way." Chris replied back.

"Good, thanks." Leon stated with a nod.

"Leon, wait. There's something I need to tell you... Ada Wong is dead." Chris added.

Leon was struck silent, as he lowered his hand, before shaking his head slowly in controlled sorrow. "Copy." He finally uttered back. "Sherry and Jake need you. Don't let them down, and help the mercenaries. After all, they seem to be in each of our company. So we are responsible for their help, just as they are with ours."

Leon then shut off the comms, as Helena approached him. "...Are you OK?" She asked with genuine concern in her voice, noticing the sadness in Leon's expression.

"Let's just find the survivors and get the hell out of here." Leon stated, as the group heard the sound of jeeps leaving the area, as they saw them disappear deeper into the city, where the cloud of viral gas was.

"Hey! What the hell are you guys doing over there?" A BSAA soldier demanded, as he immediately gestured for the group to follow him. "We need to evacuate, come on!"

Leon was about to head towards the soldier, before he then immediately intercepted communications from the BSAA.

"We detected traces of the C-Virus in the gas!" The operator on the other end spoke. "Looks like the same gas that hit Tall Oaks. Tatchi has gone to hell. We're trying to get it under control, but... shit...!"

"My god..." Helena spoke with horror, hearing the conversation as well through her own comms.

"We can't stay here, we gotta move." Leon stated, as the group immediately nodded back in consent, as they headed down.

"We're moving in to search for surviving evacuees!" The soldier spoke through his walkie-talkie.

"Wait!" Helena called out, getting the soldier's attention, as he noticed the four them approaching him.

"We want to help." Leon requested to the soldeir.

"They're active agents, we're well-equipped mercenaries." Richard briefly explained, pointing to Helena and Leon, then at himself and Reisen. "By the looks of it, you're going to need some help routing the incoming zombies for the sake of the people here. Consider this a favour done for the sake of humanity."

The soldier then looked at them for a while, alternating to look towards each of them, before they heard the sound of whooshing, causing them to turn to the open street, where they saw the viral gas spreading towards their location. Seeing that the situation is tense at the moment, the soldier immediately relented. "Alright. Come on." The soldier answered back, before gesturing for the four of them to follow him. "This way!"

The group immediately made their way through a small alley that took them to another street, as there was a large tall building along the street. "We're taking a detour through the Quad Tower." The soldier informed them.

When they immediately pushed past the tower to get inside, they found that there were a large group of evacuating civilians were frantically running across the street, however, they reeled back, when they saw that the viral gas cloud was spreading in their direction, immediately turning around, trying to run from both the cloud and the zombies inside of it.

Richard immediately started firing at the zombies, as he mowed the front-most ones to buy the fleeing civilians time to get away from the spreading infection, as Leon saw that the soldier immediately made their way through one of the side-doors into the building, before immediately calling them. "Over here!" He cried.

The other three immediately made their way through the door, and after taking out enough of the zombies, Richard immediately stopped firing, and did the same. The soldier immediately closed the door behind them, as it allowed the viral gas no place to enter the bottom floor of the building from. Leon looked around, as he could see the zombies pounding furiously on the large glass windows, in a attempt to break them.

"You OK? What's it like out there?" One of the soldiers who were taking refuge in the building asked another.

"All I can see is a shitstorm. And I don't think that's the half of it." The other soldier immediately grunted back.

"We're on our way back to the Quad Tower to check on the evacuees." The soldier guiding the group of survivors answered back, as he headed up the stairs. "We've got a vehicle out back if you wanna hitch a ride."

"You heard the man, let's get moving." Leon stated, as the group immediately went up the stairs, just as they heard the glass window shatter behind them, as well as the sound of zombies groaning, as they shuffled in after the viral gas cloud. "Get moving, now!"

The four of them immediately increased their pace, as they found a soldier that was incapacitated on the ground, as Richard immediately moved over to him, and immediately helped him up quickly. Reisen and Helena immediately defended the staircase, as they shot down any zombie that went up them into their view. The soldier guiding them immediately worked on the doors ahead, before he immediately unlocked them, and slamming them open.

"Alright! Go!" The soldier shouted, as the other soldiers, and both the mercenaries and agents rushed through the door, as they found themselves in a set of corridors, as they moved around it, before reaching another set of doors.

"Where's our ride?" Leon asked.

"It's just outside! Go!" The soldier shouted, as he impatiently gestured for them to get moving.

Richard immediately turned his head back, as he heard the sound of countless zombies pursuing after them, as he immediately grimaced.

"Who's guarding this point then...?" Richard asked grimly.

"...I am." One of the soldiers present stated.

Richard silently pulled out two grenades from his own backpack, before placing them in the hands of the soldier, much to his surprise. "What's this for...?" He asked.

"One for the zombies, and one for your mercy." Richard responded back. "If you think that the numbers are too great, and there's no way out, don't give them the satisfaction of infecting you along with them."

The soldier immediately looked at the grenades given to him, before he nodded slowly. "I understand."

Leon looked back at Richard, with a appalled look, opening his mouth to object to Richard's choice, before he then considered Richard's words, and immediately stopped himself. The four of them immediately pushed through the doors, as their guiding soldier was pushed out of the doors, as the soldier who decided to stop the zombies to the end, shut the doors.

"...Shit. Good luck." The soldier stated, before he immediately entered the military jeep that was parked down by the street, and immediately revving its engine. The others immediately got into the available passengers seats, as the jeep immediately drove into the gas cloud itself, as the inside was protected due to ventilation.

"Where did all the ash come from?" Helena asked, noting the white soot in notable amounts all over the affected places.

"Probably from the missile." Leon answered back.

"HQ to Charlie. Change of plans." The jeep's transmitter sounded off. "Entry to Tatchi is prohibited. Retreat and wait for further orders."

"What? But Echo Team is still in there! They need us!" Another voice was heard from the comms.

"Fall back! That's an order! We can't risk any more men in there!" The first voice shouted back.

"Damnit..." The second voice grumbled back, before the transmitter went silent once again.

"This kind of attack... I have never expect that there would be a biological attack of the same scale as the Raccoon City Incident..." Reisen remarked.

"Yeah, it's that bad..." Leon answered back.

"Did Simmons do this...?" Helena asked the others.

"I wouldn't doubt that. I bet this was Simmons's greatest and final 'fuck you' to all of us." Richard growled with anger. "Bastard nuked the city with the viral gas just to spite us even after his death.

Suddenly the jeep transmitter immediately crackled to life. "No! Don't! Get back! DIE!" A frantic voice screamed in fear, before it devolved into screams of agony and pain, as he was presumably eaten alive by the zombies.

"Shit!" The soldier cursed, as he slammed his hands on the steering wheel.

Suddenly, one of the zombies crawled onto the hood of the car, as it thumped ineffectively on the chassis of the jeep, and tried to scratch and flail at the front windows, which was far out of its reach, before a turn immediately jolted the zombie off, as the jeep bumped up slightly, as it crushed the zombies underneath its tires.

As the jeep made its way of the viral gas cloud, it slowly came to a stop. "This is as far as I can get you." The soldier stated. "The tower is right up ahead. You four keep going. I'm going to head back and try to find what's left of my team."

"Thank you." Helena stated, as everyone immediately disembarked from the jeep.

"Be careful, alright?" Leon advised the soldier.

"You might be walking into certain death there... But as long as there is hope... There's still a chance you can do it." Richard stated. "Best of luck to you then, soldier. You're going to need every ounce of it that I could give to you."

Reisen merely nodded at the soldier, as he immediately got out of the jeep, as he initially attempted to contact his squadmates. As he did, the four of them immediately made their way to the Quad Tower, as they got over a upturned truck, as Helena was boosted up by Leon, as she helped the others up to the top of it one by one, before they jumped down from it, and continued their way along the street.

However, as they did, they heard the sounds of something driving at them, as they turned around and saw that there was a large oil tanker rushing at them, as it blared out a warning burst of its horn just quick enough for everyone to dive out of its way. It then tried to turn around, only for it to immediately tip over, as it skidded across the street, before coming to a rest on the side of the opposite building.

As the group turned around, they saw that there was oil leaking out of a hole in the tank, as it slowly moved towards the flames on a wrecked car. Richard and Reisen immediately noticed and reacted to the danger, as they rolled out of the way quicker, and Leon and Helena were left unlucky, as the tanker immediately exploded right before them.

The four of them were sent flying by the explosion. Richard and Reisen, who managed to get some distance were only sent flying low enough for them to roll across the ground before coming to a stop, while Leon and Helena were hit hard enough for them to hit one of the cars, as the metal frame creaked under their impact. They soon fell forwards, dazed for the moment.

As Richard and Reisen got up, they saw that there was a large group of zombies entering the area and going after them and the dazed agents. They immediately fired at the zombies, covering the agents for as long as it takes for them to get up. After a few moments, Leon immediately recovered, as he looked up and saw the two mercenaries covering them.

When Richard managed to clear enough zombies to ensure their safety, he turned back to the two of them. "Oi! Get up! Now's not the time to roll over and die!" Richard shouted back.

Leon then looked at Helena, before she immediately lifted her up over his shoulder, as she was still dazed from the explosion. "Come on. I got you." Leon stated, before turning to Richard and Reisen. "Could you...?"

"Don't worry. We'll make sure that you and Helena make it through safe." Richard answered back, before he then heard the sound of a chopper approaching. "What the...?"

He immediately looked up, as he saw that inside the chopper was Ada Wong herself, this time in the same uniform that Leon and everyone saw back in Tall Oaks, as his eyes widened. "...Ada...?"

Helena immediately jolted awake at the sound of the chopper, as she looked up and saw Ada. "Leon! It's..."

"Ada! I thought she was dead!" Leon exclaimed.

"Well, no time for a reunion just yet! Let's find a way out of here, the zombies are still coming to here thanks to that damn explosion! Helena, are you alright? What about you, Leon? You two were hit by the full brunt of the explosion." Richard told them both.

"I'm fine..." Helena assured Richard, before she noticed a alley that they could escape through. "Over there!"

As they fired back at the zombie horde approaching them, the group immediately made their way to the alley, as Leon received a call from Hunnigan.

"Leon! Leon, do you hear me? Are you alright?" Hunnigan called out.

"I'll live. But I've got a feeling things are about to get worse." Leon answered back, as they broke into the building ahead of them, as they checked behind them to see if any of the zombies were pursuing them. As they made their way to another alley, they found that there was a abandoned military jeep, with several turned soldiers wandering near it.

They immediately disposed the infected soldiers, as Richard immediately rummaged through the jeep, managing to find more ammunition for their various weapons. After stocking up on as much ammo as they could carry reliably with any significant encumbrance, they immediately made their way up the stairs ahead of them, as they made their way down, taking out any zombies that got in their way, before they went through the door at the end, finding themselves above a highway which was cluttered with car wrecks, some still burning from the damage they received, with many zombies shuffling in between them.

"This is terrible." Helena remarked with horror at the scene before her.

"What happened, Chris...?" Leon muttered under his breath, before he immediately turned on the comms to Hunnigan. "Hunnigan! Can we make it to the tower this way?"

"Yeah. Just keep moving in that direction." Hunnigan informed them.

"I'll remain up here and clear out the zombies from above with my sniper rifle." Reisen stated. "When it's clear, I'll rejoin with you."

"Got it. Come on, Leon. These zombies won't take care of themselves. We should thin the numbers before we make our way across." Richard told Leon, before he immediately vaulted over the railing of the stairs, landing on the highway, and attracting the attention of the zombies on it, as they shambled towards him. Leon and Helena immediately dropped down as well, as Reisen immediately started picking off zombies from her high positioning.

As they cleared out the zombies, Reisen looked around for any more zombies, before she then saw Leon give the 'all-clear' signal, as she immediately hopped off the stairs, and joined back with the group.

"Well, so far so good-" Richard was about to say, before they heard the sound of metal creaking, turning their attention to the falling fighter jet that immediately slammed down on the back-most section of the highway, which was unfortunately where a large gas tanker was, as the four of them didn't hesitate to start running, as the section of the highway collapsed, followed by a massive explosion caused by the entire fighter's payload being detonated by a large explosion originating from the tanker, tossing cars around.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me...! TWICE NOW!?" Richard screamed out in outrage, as there was an even bigger explosion, as more cars were sent flying into the air, as they focused on what's ahead of them. As they begun to run out of free space to run across, they saw a helicopter descend over a set of cars, as the side doors opened, and a soldier jumped out, wielding his assault rifle to combat the encroaching zombies.

"Over here! Get in!" He called out to the survivors.

The group immediately complied, as they immediately jumped onto the cars, before jumping on a upturned truck, as they ran across its long carriage, before they made a great leap towards the helicopter, as the explosion behind them was so close that they could feel the heat washing over them. As they did, the helicopter leaned slightly to avoid getting hit by the explosion, but Leon suddenly found a zombie that was holding him tightly by the legs. Helena immediately got up into the helicopter, and Reisen was in the process of getting herself into the helicopter.

As Leon attempted to shake the zombie off him, Richard immediately pulled out his side-arm before aiming carefully at the zombie's head, before firing and destroying it, allowing Leon to easily shake it off him, as both of them climbed into the helicopter quickly. As they were about to have a moment of relief, they suddenly felt the helicopter jolt violently, as alarms began to blare from the pilot console of the helicopter.

When Leon turned to the source of the alarm, he found that the former pilot of the helicopter seemed to have fainted from blood loss, evident from the large fresh and moist stain of blood on his uniform, as he was slumped over, his body pressing against the control stick of the helicopter, causing it to spin uncontrollably.

"Shit...!" Leon swore, as he immediately entered the co-pilot's seat, before pushing the pilot off, and pulling the stick back, as the helicopter, although was no longer free-falling towards the ground, was still spinning heavily. "Damnit! I can't bring her up! Come on...!"

As Leon was wrestling with the helicopter, Helena immediately moved the unconscious pilot right onto one of the back seats, as he was slumped over. Leon struggled with the control stick more, before managing to barely bring the helicopter into a rise, moments away from hitting the ground, before red lights dotted the helicopter, warning the passengers inside of it of its current state.

"This thing isn't going to hold up much longer at this state...!" Helena exclaimed.

"Just a few more blocks...!" Leon growled, as he tried to steady the helicopter.

Suddenly, the orientation of the helicopter caused the pilot to immediately slide out of his seat, as he slid towards the open door. However, before he could fall, Reisen immediately caught him quickly.

"I got you. Do not worry. We will get you-" Reisen stated, before suddenly the pilot turned over, revealing that he has been infected, as he growled. "-treated...?"

Reisen immediately moved to shove the zombie off the helicopter before it could get his hands on her, as the zombie screamed as he fell towards the ground. Leon immediately saw a large building ahead of him, as he immediately twisted the control stick, so that the helicopter's bottom brushed against the window-panes of the building. However, the tail-end of the helicopter suddenly hit the building itself, causing it to swerve down towards a set of train tracks.

"Shit! Hold on!" Leon warned everyone, as they did. The helicopter moved right into the path of a oncoming train, as Leon immediately leaned the helicopter away from the train, as it scraped against the train. However, doing so caused Leon to lose the last vestiges of control he had on the rapidly failing vehicle, as it spun out on control, and right into the Quad Tower, through a large office, and slamming right into a large commercial broadcast tower.

As the helicopter and tower bent down from gravity, the survivors were immediately ejected from the helicopter, as they landed right onto the transparent glass window below them, as they twisted and turned in pain, before they slowly got up, as Richard was clutching the side of his head. They soon looked down, as they could see the swarm of zombies below them at the moment.

"Ow... That hit me where it hurt yesterday..." Richard groaned. "Damn... Well, I guess we're here... eh?"

When they looked up, they saw that the helicopter, and the commercial tower was beginning to drop even lower, which gave them fair warning to start running, as both of them fell right onto the glass, shattering it violently. When it finally landed, they looked back at the broken commercial tower and the helicopter wreck stuck inside of it.

"You all alright?" Leon asked everyone.

"I'm fine, despite the head-ache I got slamming my head. It'll fade away in time." Richard responded back. "We need to get inside and think about what to do next."

"You're right." Leon answered back, before the group made their way to the nearest door they could find, as they found themselves inside of a large pavilion, with a large metal obelisk in the middle, and several vehicles strewn all over the area. When they took a closer look, they saw the bodies of soldiers on the ground, most likely dead. "That can't be good..."

"We should get down and see what just happened to them. I don't think we're done with this yet..." Reisen answered back.

The group immediately found some stairs to get down to the pavilion, as they looked around. Leon immediately bent down to one of the soldiers, as he confirmed his death, before seeing the white stringy fluid that was associated with the C-Virus.

However, all was interrupted, when the group heard the sound of footsteps coming towards them. And when they turned their attention to the source, and got a clear look at it, they were shocked beyond belief.

"What the...!?" Richard spat out, as he raised his rifle up. "YOU!?"


	14. Chris Chapter 3

Unmei Force Infection

Chris Chapter 3: Pursuit on the Aircraft Carrier

* * *

_On the aircraft carrier in the city..._

Chris slowly woke in darkness, as he slowly got up and looked around for Marisa, Sanae or Piers. He immediately noticed that his side-arm laid on the ground beside him.

"Piers! Lisa! Sanae!" Chris called out the names of his partner and allies, as he listened for any response. And he did get one, in the form of Marisa groaning. "Lisa? Are you alright?"

"...Yeah. I'm fine. Other than being knocked out for a while..." Marisa groaned back, as she looked around as well, unable to see Chris. "Where are you? I can't see you clearly in this darkness."

Suddenly, Marisa immediately saw two eye-shaped red lights move towards them, before they immediately lowered down, as the sound of Piers grunting could be heard. Chris immediately saw that the light radiating from the red eyes briefly illuminated Piers, as he went for his gun and aimed at the lights, as their source was cursing in Chinese as well.

Suddenly, the lights of the room turned on, as it revealed that Sanae just awakened, as she was shocked to see that Piers was being choked by a humanoid creature in a black military plug-suit, with a helmet shaped like a squid's head, with red round lenses on it. Before Chris could get a shot at the creature's head, Piers immediately knocked the creature off with a heavy push, before back-handing it hard enough to knock it off him. Sanae immediately reached for her rifle, and shot the creature dead before it could turn tail and run.

"Crap... That was a close one..." Sanae remarked with a tense tone.

"I'm good, captain!" Piers responded back to Chris, before a burst of gun-fire darted towards them, as they immediately rolled out of the way of the incoming gun-fire. When they got up on their feet, and got a closer look at the shooter, it was the very same creature that just attacked them, as it had a military assault rifle in its hands, as it reloaded and fired at them again, only to miss as they took cover.

"Keep your heads down! They've got their sights locked on us!" Chris warned his team.

"You don't have to say that! It's pretty obvious, don't you think!?" Marisa exclaimed back, before she noticed that there was an open door that they could use to get inside a room to get out of the lookout's sight. "Over here! We can get out of their sight through here!"

The group immediately made their way into the door, before they encountered more of the creatures, as they barked out orders in Chinese to each other, and started attacking the group. Marisa immediately fired a grenade right into the middle of the group before they could split, managing to take out all but one of them, as the lucky one was knocked down on the ground. Chris immediately rushed over and crushed its head under his heel, before it could get up.

"Careful, these enemies are different, by the looks of it." Chris stated. "I can't seem to point it out, but they seem much more dangerous than the other ones we faced before."

"So these are Neo-Umbrella's finest, huh?" Piers remarked, as Sanae immediately found that there was a weapon box in a corner of the room, as she immediately popped it open to find a semi-auto sniper rifle in it, as well as several clips of ammo for it.

"These should be useful." Sanae stated, as she immediately took it into her hands, and pocketed the sniper rifle clips for herself. "Chris, I think I can use this to take out the enemy that was shooting us from afar."

"We'll cover you then." Chris answered back, as they immediately made their way upstairs, before making their way to the balcony above, as there was cover on it that they immediately used. Chris immediately fired at the enemy creatures below them, assisted by Marisa and Piers, as bullets and grenades rained down from above, thinning the enemy numbers.

At the same time, Sanae immediately readied her sniper rifle, as she peered through the scope, swivelling around to find the enemies on the other side that were shooting at them, before she immediately found one, and a explosive barrel near it. She took a deep breath to stabilise her aim, before then firing at the barrel, causing to explode and take out the creature near it, along with anyone nearby it. She then noticed several more enemies around the back, as she took them out one by one.

"Alpha to HQ. We're closing in on Ada Wong." Chris reported through his comms to his headquarters.

"HQ here. Copy that." Was the response.

"We have to figure out where on board she's hiding." Piers stated.

The group immediately descended down to the ground, as they managed to catch a brief glimpse of Ada, who looked at them, before going deeper into the ship. They immediately rushed after her, before they then saw that there was a alarm blaring, as the stairs that Ada passed by were being lifted up, and more of the creatures appeared to intercept them.

"We need to get up those stairs." Chris stated. "Hurry! We can't let her get away."

"But how? That thing is definitely controlled from somewhere..." Marisa pondered, before she then saw the control room on one side of the large hangar. "Over there...! I think that place might have the controls for the stairs."

The four of them immediately made their way towards the control room, as they were about to make their way to the doors to get over to the control room. However, as they got close to it, a bulkhead immediately dropped itself in front of the entrance to the control room, making it inaccessible.

"Well, that's just great. What else could go wrong? How the hell are we supposed to get that bulkhead open now?" Piers grunted in frustration at the current events.

"We'll figure something out. That's our job. You and I have a mission to complete, Piers. And we have the other two to rely upon as well." Chris assured Piers, before turning to Marisa. "So, you think that your..."

"Out of the question. My rockets are powerful, but it'd be a waste of ammo to try with these rockets." Marisa immediately shot down Chris's idea, before she then looked up, seeing that there was a large ballistic missile on a rack above them, as she immediately thought of an idea. "But... I can see something that we can use instead. Look up there."

Everyone looked up to where the missile was. "Yeah, that should do it." Chris stated, before he then traced the path ahead for them to reach the missile. "Follow me!"

The group immediately made their way up a set of stairs, and climbing up to the catwalk above the hangar, as they noticed that there was another catwalk that they could use to get across to the missile. Chris immediately vaulted Piers to the other catwalk, as Marisa did the same with Sanae.

"Alright, what now-" Sanae was about to ask, as the cat-walks began to tremble, almost unbalancing all of them, as the separate cat-walks immediately rotated to connect to their respective balconies on opposite sides of the hangar. "Whoa... Looks like we're separated for the time being."

"Piers, are you okay?" Chris asked his partner through the comms.

"Yeah. I'm fine." Piers answered back. "And so is Sanae."

"Just keep going. We'll meet up eventually." Chris responded back, as he immediately hopped onto the balcony, with Marisa, as they immediately engaged with the creatures on their side of the hangar.

The two pairs carefully made their way across to the missile, before Piers and Sanae managed to reach the missile first, as Marisa and Chris slowly clambered their way across by swinging across a long pipe that took them to the other side. As soon as they landed, they regrouped with the two other members of the team.

Piers started manipulating the crank to adjust the angle and orientation of the missile, before Chris then fiddled with the electronic systems inside of the missile, before the missile immediately began to beep, as its rocket engine ignited quickly. Piers immediately tackled Chris down, as Sanae and Marisa fell prone, as the missile shot towards the bulkhead, before exploding violently, and destroying the bulkhead completely.

"Now that's how you open a door." Chris remarked, as Marisa smirked at that statement. "And now let's get those stairs back down."

The four of them immediately made their way down, as Piers immediately contacted HQ. "HQ, come in. We're continuing our mission to apprehend Ada Wong." He reported back.

The group made their way back down to where the bulkhead blocking the entrance to the control room was, as they reached the doors on the other side, as Chris and Piers pushed them apart, allowing Marisa and Sanae to get through, before Chris and Piers rolled through the doors, as they slammed shut again. The door took them around the exterior of the ship, as they found some more creatures, as they took them out with haste. They soon reached the control room, as Sanae immediately found the lever controlling the stairs, as she pulled it down, and the stairs immediately started to lower themselves down for the others to get across from.

"HQ to Alpha. Fighting in the city has spread." The headquarters responded back to Chris and Piers through the comms. "You need to apprehend Ada Wong now."

"Copy that. Tell our boys to hang in there." Chris replied back, as he immediately slammed the doors leading out of the control room open, leading them back inside the hangar. As they made their way down, they saw that one of the services lifts inside the hangar immediately came to life, as a large fighter jet immediately descended down, as they could see that there was a creature inside of it.

"Are you kidding me!?" Piers exclaimed with outrage.

"I think we've overstayed our welcome." Chris added.

"Yeah, but in the same side of the coin..." Marisa remarked back, as she immediately readied her rocket launcher, as the fighter rotated to take aim at them. "So have they!"

She immediately fired and destroyed the fighter, as it exploded spectacularly, due to its missile payload, taking out the creatures that were close enough to the explosions to be shredded apart by the sheer force of them. When they kicked through the door that Ada went through, they soon immediately heard something being broadcast through the speakers on the ship.

"Can you feel it spreading through your body yet?" Ada's voice rang all around them. "I'm just giving you exactly what you gave me, Simmons. At first, you'll be afraid, but don't worry. You're just becoming the monster you always were. You and everyone else on this planet. You and your Family may have shaped the world into what it is today, but starting tomorrow, it's all going to change."

"What the hell was that...? What is Ada talking about...?" Piers remarked at Ada's ominous monologue through the speakers.

"Simmons... That was what Leon and that other mercenary mentioned earlier back in the building..." Chris muttered. "So Ada and Simmons were working hand-to-hand. But it seems like that she's betraying him already."

"Well, then it's all the more reason that we should get moving, before she actually manages to start her plan." Marisa growled. "After all, she's going to be turning this entire world into a living hell."

The group immediately entered the elevator at the end of the corridors, as Chris immediately slammed the button to close the doors, as it slowly made its ascent through the levels of the carrier. When they reached the top, they immediately saw Ada before them, albeit in a different costume than the one they were pursuing.

"It's Ada!" Piers exclaimed, as he immediately raised his rifle to stop her in her tracks.

"Wait, that Ada doesn't look like the same one we were chasing earlier...!" Sanae exclaimed.

Ada immediately rushed through the door, before she immediately locked the door behind her, and then immediately running through a door that was slowly closing down, as the elevator door opened, as the group immediately shot out of it, and right to the door, as Chris immediately twisted it open with all of his might, just in time to see Ada disappear through the closing door.

"Ada, stop!" Chris shouted, before a creature immediately burst out of the other door inside the room, before being killed by head-shots from Sanae up-close.

The group immediately made their way through the rooms in the carrier, looking for Ada for the entire way, before they managed to catch a glimpse of her in another room, through the bars showing the corridor on the other side,

"Found her!" Piers shouted, as Ada glanced at them, before running along the corridor out of their sight once again.

"Upstairs, move!" Chris stated, as he saw that the corridor had stairs inside of it.

"Wait, hold up a second." Marisa stated. "The Ada we're chasing is wearing a blue dress, and a red scarf, right? And this Ada before us is wearing a red dress. Don't you find that odd at all?"

"Well, we know that one of them has to be an impostor or a body double." Chris answered back. "But we don't have the time to argue about who's the real deal now. We need to find either one of them, and apprehend them, regardless of their status."

"Yeah... Now I get why Kaz said those words earlier..." Sanae muttered to herself. "'This might not be Ada we're dealing with'... If that's not Ada, who is she then?"

They made their way to another part of the ship, as they saw Ada pass by the room through the balcony outside, as the group immediately rushed after her, and immediately vaulted over the open window that led onto the balcony, only to find that she already moved to a faraway part of the ship, as she fired her grappling hook launcher, and immediately shot up to the top of the ship.

"Damnit, she's toying with us!" Piers cursed.

They soon rushed into the bridge of the ship, as they found a large amount of the sentient creatures laying in ambush, as they popped out and fired at the group. The four of them immediately took cover, as they slowly eradicated the enemy ambush, before they slowly checked around for any more enemies in the vicinity.

When they were sure that the enemies have been cleared out inside of the large room, they immediately climbed up to the top of the ship through the hatch in the room, before climbing a set of stairs, and a ladder to reach the door that led outside to the topmost section of the ship. Chris immediately placed his hand on the door, as he looked at the group. They nodded in confirmation one by one, before Chris immediately slammed the door open, and everyone drew their weapons to face Ada, who was standing near the edge, as it was not the red-dressed Ada they were chasing just now, but the blue-dressed one that was their initial target.

"Ada!" Chris shouted, as Ada immediately turned around to face them.

"Still haven't had enough, huh? Even after losing almost all of your men?" Ada mocked Chris. "What is this, the second time? With your track record I gotta say, I'd hate to be a member of your team, Chris. I mean, you must have roped these poor ladies into helping you out, didn't you?"

Chris immediately snarled, as he took a step forward, before Marisa immediately placed a hand to stop him. "Don't bother. I bet she's baiting you right now." She warned Chris.

Sanae immediately took a few steps forward, her rifle trained at Ada, as her expression was dark. "Tell me, who are you really?" Sanae asked with a very low and threatening tone.

"Why, I'm Ada Wong. The one and only true one here." Ada answered back casually.

"You lie." Sanae responded back coldly. "There is another Ada Wong here, and she looks far more fitting of the description than you are. After all, you have such a great dissonance from the Ada Wong written in the reports, and the one we just had the pleasure of meeting. You are NOT Ada Wong, and you never will be. So who are you? Who are YOU really?"

Ada immediately froze at the mention of the fact that there was another Ada Wong, as her expression immediately contorted from arrogant mockery into a hateful snarl. "So... the impostor shows herself, doesn't she...? So she's come here to take my rightful name from me...? I am Ada Wong. Not her. Me! ME!" She screamed with fury. "I AM THE TRUE ADA WONG! AND I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE ON-"

Before she could finish her statement, she was shone from above by a large helicopter, as she immediately turned around, and the group looked up to it, as the doors opened to reveal one of Simmon's bodyguard holding a sniper rifle in his hands. He immediately fired a shot right through the heart of 'Ada', as she writhes in pain, as the group watched as she stumbled in agony, and the helicopter leave as quickly as it came.

"You got me..." 'Ada' muttered faintly, before she slowly back-stepped towards the ledge, as blood dripped from her mortal wound."Well played. But no one can stop it now..."

She immediately fell backwards, as Chris and Piers immediately moved forward, as they watched her body fall several levels down, before landing with a meat thud, splattering blood everywhere around her.

"Damnit, what the hell just happened!?" Piers cursed. "What did she just do!?"

Sanae immediately noticed the briefcase that formerly belonged to the Ada impostor, as she immediately cracked it open, and finding that there was a red syringe stored inside of it. When she read the label of it, she immediately paled, as it was one of the syringes that contained a concentrated extract of the C-Virus.

'_...This... This is...!_' Sanae thought frantically, as the hand holding it trembled heavily. '_This is the very same syringe that Piers used himself, in order to combat HAOS with... And the very same thing that brought about his death...! I managed to find it... But what should I do...?"_

She then looked back at Marisa, who was slightly disturbed by the recent events, and then at Chris and Piers, who were discussing about the Ada impostor that just got killed earlier. She then immediately looked back at the syringe, as if it was the cause of a apocalypse.

'_I could destroy it here... I could destroy it here, and Piers won't have to die..._' Sanae thought, as she looked at Piers briefly. '_If he doesn't have the syringe, he won't have to infect himself to fight HAOS at a even level. Even with just our weapons... We have enough firepower to fight HAOS until we can take it down long enough for it to finally die... And then Piers won't have to die-_'

Sanae then immediately recalled something, as she imagined the point where the escape pod was going to escape the facility, before it was caught by a enraged HAOS, who was about to use its last living moments to crush their escape pod, and condemn Chris and the others to the same fate as it will suffer soon enough. Without Piers giving his last effort, then...!

'_No... I can't...! If Piers isn't infected... Then HAOS would have killed all of us if we tried to escape with the escape pod..._' Sanae's expression turned sorrowful. '_And there is no way that I could possibly find a way to defeat HAOS without exposing our true identities... That means... that Piers is doomed to die, if Chris is to live..._'

Piers then walked over to Sanae, before he saw the syringe in her hands.

"Give that syringe to me. It was from that briefcase earlier, right?' Piers said to Sanae.

Sanae immediately snapped out of her thoughts, as she reluctantly gave it to him. "Yeah... It was." Sanae answered back. '_I'm sorry, Piers... But not even the gods can save you from the fate you're about to suffer..._'

"This looks like a different strain." Piers remarked.

"We'll bring it back to HQ for analysis." Chris responded back. "But right now, we need to figure out the meaning of her last words."

Marisa immediately looked around for any clues about what was going to happen, before she managed to find the impostor's phone, which dropped out of her pocket before she fell, as she immediately opened it, as it wasn't even password-encrypted, strangely consider the person she was imposing as, before Marisa immediately managed to sift through the content, before she managed to find the impostor's plan, and immediately paled.

"Oh god... She's literally going to bomb the cities with biological war-heads!" Marisa exclaimed with horror. "And there's a aircraft carrier carrying one of them near this city...!"

"I need a report on the missing vessels, ASAP!" Chris barked through his comms to headquarters.

"The city has been compromised, and we've lost contact with local assets." Was the response from command. "We need more time.

"We don't have it! The terrorist assault was just a distraction!" Chris shouted back. "The real attack will spread the virus globally!"

As Chris immediately cut off his comms, Marisa immediately turned to him. "Alright, now what, Chris? You better have some way to find that damn thing before it starts the launch!" She asked Chris with a hasty tone.

"Let's check the rear hangar. There has gotta be some planes back there that we can use to reach, or attack the carrier with." Chris suggested, pointing towards one of the elevators nearby.

The group made their way into the elevator, as it descended back into the ship

"Alpha Team, this is HQ." Chris heard through his comms. "We've confirmed that the information given has been verified. There's a fully armed aircraft carrier in open water not far from your location. Satellite imaging indicates they're getting ready to fire missiles on the mainland. It's imperative that you stop them from launching even a single one."

"Copy that, HQ." Piers answered back, before the elevator reached its destination, as the group found themselves in a dark corridor.

"The bay is just up ahead. Hurry!" Chris shouted, as the group immediately made their way through the corridor, before the ship lurched, almost unbalancing them.

"This is making me sea-sick. You think this tub is going to last much longer?" Pier asked, fighting the nausea caused by the ship shaking.

"I don't want to hang around to find out. Come on!" Chris shouted.

When they reached the doors that would take them to the rear hangar bay, they found that it was closed, and locked behind a passcode system. Chris immediately looked closely at the device locking the doors, as it showed that there were three passcodes that they need to acquire before they can attempt unlocking it.

"Looks like we're going to need to look for the keys to this thing, right?" Marisa asked Chris, before Sanae immediately saw a corpse nearby, and beside it some sort of small device.

She immediately made her way to it, as she gagged when she saw that the corpse sported a large gaping hole in their chest, as if something burst out of it, and that the device on the ground was a passcode key that they could use for the doors earlier.

"He's dead. Which means someone else is here." Chris stated, as the others made their way to the corpse. "And it seems like that he was holding one of the keys to the doors."

The group immediately made their way downstairs, before they found a black slick creature that was torturing a dying sailor, as some sort of large fleshy appendage came out of its large mouth, before clamping itself on the face of the doomed sailor, as blood spilled everywhere. After violating the dead sailor for a few moments, it immediately backed away, as another creature like it immediately burst of the chest of the corpse in a powerful spray of blood. Sanae gasped in horror, as Chris growled.

"So that's how these buggers reproduce..." Chris stated, before he immediately raised his rifle at the ready. "Well, let's get rid of them, before they make more of themselves."

The group immediately killed the creature, as well as its newborn offspring, as they immediately made their way into the ship's kitchen, as there was a creature slinking in it. Marisa immediately killed it with a direct grenade shot, although one of its hands survived the explosion, as it immediately crawled towards the group, before jumping at them.

Piers immediately caught it mid-air, before then seeing that there was several large pots of water that were still boiling, as he immediately threw the living hand right into it, as it immediately tried to get out of the boiling water, as it melted away, before it dropped below the water, completely still. As they were about to make their way through the kitchen, the ship lurched again, causing two stacked up gas canisters to hit the ground with enough force to cause them to burn up, which triggered the sprinklers systems, and automatically closing all of the doors behind shutters. What's more is that several creatures immediately got in the room through small openings, as they immediately made their way towards the group.

"Aw come on! Give me a break!" Piers shouted, as they immediately fired to take out the creatures before they could get to attacking range on them, and throwing any living hands right into the nearby boilers, in order to ensure that they are unable to attack back at them when they least expected it.

Eventually, the fires were extinguished, and the shutters covering the doors rolled back up, allowing them to get out of the kitchen, and make their way through a series of rooms, finding the two remaining pass-codes needed for the elevator. They made a beeline back to the elevator, as they scanned the pass-code keys on the locking device, opening the doors, and allowing them to pass through.

They soon found themselves in the smelting room of the ship, as there were tanks of molten metal underneath them. When Chris and Piers made their way across the room, they were suddenly ambushed by the black creatures from before, as they squealed. The two BSAA operatives landed right onto the pipes above the tanks, as a section of it immediately loosened off and dropped into the molten metal tanks below, sinking into the red-hot liquid.

Marisa immediately reacted, by firing a grenade right at the two leaping creatures, blowing them up, and sending whatever pieces remained right into the molten metal tanks, completely eradicating them.

"I don't have time for you now..." Chris stated, as he and Piers got up, before jumping back up, and getting to the other side, where they immediately entered the rear hangar bay, as there were two intact fighters that they could use.

"Just in luck." Piers stated, before turning to Sanae and Marisa. "You use one of them. We'll fire the other one up."

"You think that you could pilot this thing, Lisa?" Sanae asked Marisa, before the latter scoffed with a grin.

"I've flied these things before, and fought on them. Of course I'll take the pilot seat here, Sanae." Marisa responded back.

The two pairs immediately entered their fighters, as Chris and Marisa immediately prepared the fighters for launch, before ascending out of the hangar bay, and out of the carrier's deck, before they both shot off right towards the direction of the other aircraft carrier.

"HQ to Alpha. The aircraft carrier has been located." The headquarters relayed to Chris and Piers. "The carrier is armed with anti-aircraft guns. Take out those guns, Alpha."

"Two planes against an entire carrier. Does that even sound possible?" Piers asked Chris.

"Not if you're flying with me. I've fought against more than just a carrier with just a plane before." Marisa assured Piers. "You just focus on supporting Chris, and I'll cover your fighter, if you cover mine. Speaking of which, Sanae, man the gatling guns of the fighter. You're more suited to use those to shoot, instead of the missiles. I'll handle that for you."

"Got it!" Sanae answered back, as she immediately activated the camera feed on the fighter's underbelly, as it showed the aircraft carrier, which was already alerted to their presence, firing ground-to-air missiles and AA-fire at them.

The two fighters immediately broke apart, as they bombarded both sides of the carrier at the same time, with Sanae gunning down any creatures who tried to shoot them down with rockets, using the fighter's gatling guns, and both of the group using the fighter missiles to take out the anti-aircraft gun quickly.

"All right, now we can stop that missile. Find a place to land, Captain!" Piers exclaimed, before they received feed on their HUD display, indicating that the missile onboard the carrier is being prepped for fire. "What the...!?"

"HQ to Alpha! The missile countdown has already started." Headquaters informed the teams. "Find the control unit and stop the launch immediately!"

"Roger that, HQ. We're on it!" Piers stated, as Chris immediately switched the fighter to hover mode, before lowering the fighter close enough to the carrier deck, for Piers to open the cockpit and jump out of, as he immediately made his way towards the control unit atop the carrier.

"We've got you covered, Piers! Stop that missile now!" Marisa shouted, as Sanae immediately scanned for enemy targets, before using the gatling guns to take out the enemies that were in Piers way. Piers often encountered obstacles that were in his way, as he used demolition charges to blow them out of his way, covered by both Chris and Sanae, before he managed to get close to the control unit for the missile.

However, when he did, the entire carrier shook, as a large gargantuan zombie came out of one of the tarps on the carrier, as it slowly made its way to Piers, roaring as it did. Before it could get any closer, it was immediately bombarded by Marisa with her missiles, attracting its attention.

"Get moving! Big ugly's ours to take care of!" Marisa shouted, as she continued to lock onto the giant zombie and bombarding him with missiles, as Sanae attempted to assist by gunning at several parts of the creature, hoping to weaken it quickly. Piers took the chance to get to the control unit, as he inputted the cancel code on the control unit, as the missile lowered itself.

"HQ to Alpha. Missile launch has been aborted." Headquarters announced to Chris.

"Way to go, Piers. Now get back to the plane, so we can get outta here." Chris praised his partner.

"Roger that!" Piers shouted back, as he moved away from the control unit, as the giant zombie trashed it along with the surrounding area with a furious swipe, enraged by Marisa's attacks on it.

"Piers! Get to the crane, I'll pick you up! Lisa, keep that creature busy for the time being!" Chris barked out to Piers and Marisa.

"Already on it!" Marisa shouted, before she slammed two missiles on the face of the zombie, causing to clutch it groaning in agony. "Right in the kisser! Shake off that, I dare you!"

As Piers climbed up the crane, Chris positioned his fighter just below it, opening the cockpit, and allowing Piers to jump into it, before he raised the fighter, closing the cockpit as well. However, Chris also saw the missile re-enter launch positioning.

"HQ to Alpha! We have an emergency! The missile is preparing to launch!" Headquarters shouted to Chris and Piers.

"How in the hell!?" Chris exclaimed with pure outrage.

"It's that Ada impostor from earlier! She knew that we would try to stop it!" Piers shouted back.

"We're out of time! Alpha, permission to destroy the missile is granted!" Headquarters quickly ordered the operatives.

The giant creature immediately made its way towards the missile, before covering it with its large body. Marisa growled, before she immediately switched the missile lock-on system to rapid-fire mode, before waiting for the entire salvo to lock onto the creature.

"You damn hunk of meat...! GET OUT OF OUR WAY!" Marisa shouted, before she immediately fired the entirety of her missile salvo right at the creature, tearing it apart and killing it, allowing Chris and Piers a clear shot at the missile, as they immediately locked onto it.

"All right, Piers! Take out that missile!" Chris shouted, as Piers immediately locked onto the missile, before firing at it, as the missile immediately zoomed its way towards the war-head. However, before it could hit, the larger war-head immediately launched off, the missile missing it barely, as it struck the carrier, destroying it.

"Shit!" Marisa cursed.

"It's heading for the city!" Piers exclaimed with urgency in his voice.

"This is FOS. Is anyone there?" A female voice rang through the comms.

"Chris Redfield with the BSAA here." Chris responded back.

"Hold on, I'm patching you through to Agent Leon Kennedy." The female voice answered back.

"What-?" Chris exclaimed, before there was the sound of crackle on the other side, indicating that the other side was connected. "Leon? Leon, where are you!?"

"Chris! We're just outside of Tatchi, why?" Leon answered back quickly.

"Get the hell out of there!" Chris yelled, as Helena and Reisen saw that the flying object was getting closer towards their position, and it seemed to be much more clearer than before. Reisen squinted her eyes, before they widened as she could finally discern the object in flight.

"Leon! It's a warhead-" Reisen's voice could be faintly heard from the other side, before there was the distant sound of a explosion, as the missile was replaced by the sound of a expanding cloud of blue gas.

"Holy shit...!" Richard swore. "They... They literally dropped a bomb topped up with biological agent into the city...!"

"Leon? Leon! Are you alright!?" Chris shouted through the comms, watching the viral gas cloud expand.

"Yeah... But things just got bad. Real bad!" Leon responded back.

"Damn it!" Chris swore, slamming his fist on the side of his cockpit.

"Chris, listen to me! I need you to rescue two hostages from an underwater oil field." Leon requested. "Agent Sherry Birkin and Jake Muller. He's Albert Wesker's son. There are also two others that are also in need of rescue. Their names are Grant and Ling, and they are the comrades of the two mercenaries that are accompanying us right now. "

"...Wesker...!?" Chris asked with disbelief.

"...Grant and Ling...? Captured?" Marisa asked with the same disbelief.

"Chris, he's got the antibodies for the C-Virus." Leon stated.

"I got it. On my way." Chris replied back.

"Good, thanks." Leon stated with a nod.

"Leon, wait. There's something I need to tell you... Ada Wong is dead." Chris added, before he immediately cut off the comms.

"Holy shit... How did Grant and Ling get captured...? Are they likely going to be fine...?" Marisa muttered to herself.

"Well, we won't know for sure unless we see for ourselves, Lisa." Sanae answered back. "Hey, Chris and Piers. We're following with you. We need to save our friends."

"Fine by me, you've been following us since the start of this incident." Chris casually answered back. "I got the location. Just follow us."

The two fighters immediately shot away from the infected city, making their way ocean-bound, where the underwater oil field was.


	15. Chris Final Chapter

Unmei Force: Infection

Chris Final Chapter: Terror from the Deep

* * *

_Near the underwater oil field far in Chinese waters..._

The two fighters descended towards the large oil field, as they found landing pads to dock onto, before they jumped out of the cockpits, and looked around wtih their weapons up.

When Chris was sure that the area around them was clear, he immediately signalled to the others to proceed towards the main elevator. Piers immediately pulled down the switch next to it, as the multiple layers of doors opened, and they entered it, before Chris pressed the button to close the doors, momentarily plunging the entire elevator into darkness.

Soon the elevator lights came on, as they saw themselves descending down a large elevator shaft. They immediately checked their weapons, making sure that they are in proper condition for use, while Marisa took the chance to arrange her own clip of grenades for ease of use in the battles to come.

"There's irony for you." Piers remarked. "A man who spent his entire life trying to destroy the world, and now... his son is the only one who can save it."

"And here I am coming to rescue him. " Chris responded back.

"The man who killed his father. Like I said... irony." Piers answered back.

"I don't know, maybe it's fate." Chris sighed.

"I'm sure that Grant and Ling will stop him from trying something rash." Sanae tried to assure both BSAA operatives. "They are well aware of the fact that you might be coming to help them out, and I'm sure that Jake might have already talked about this with them."

Both operatives remained silent, as Sanae frowned a little at the silence. Soon the elevator shaft gave way to glass, as it showed the large facility that was built deep in the waters.

"It's been 3 years since I killed Wesker." Chris stated. "I can't let this war follow me forever."

He then turned towards Piers, walking over and placing a hand on his shoulder. "After we rescue Jake, I'm turning in my gun." He continued.

"What?" Piers asked back with shock. "Wait a minute-"

"It's about time someone took my place." Chris responded back calmly. "And I'd be honoured if it was you, Piers."

"I... I don't think that I'm ready for that." Piers answered back with hesitation in his voice.

"You've made it this far, haven't you?" Chris asked back.

"Besides, have some faith in yourself." Marisa answered back with a smile on her face. "After all, I can tell you honestly: You are one hell of a soldier to have managed to deal with these freaks with nary a scratch on you."

"Is that so... Thank you then." Piers responded back, grateful from Marisa's compliment.

Suddenly, the elevator immediately stopped, as everyone immediately turned towards the doors, weapons at the ready.

"All right." Chris told the others, as the elevator doors opened. "This is it!"

They immediately dashed into a corridor, as they looked around, seeing that it looked like a well-built and futuristic facility.

"Who the hell has the funding to build something like this?" Piers pondered, looking around.

"It's got Neo Umbrella written all over it." Chris replied back. "Be careful. Knowing them, there'll be some surprises around here."

"Copy that." Piers nodded back.

"Like there likely isn't." Marisa scoffed as well.

They soon made their way into one of the control rooms, as they looked around the room. When Piers moved closer towards the console and screen on one side of the room, he was surprised at what he saw.

"Captain!" Piers shouted, attracting Chris's attention, as he walked over to the screens, as he found that Jake and Sherry were being held by mechanisms high off the ground, their waist and wrists tied onto the back of the board. And there was also Gus and Meiling, who were also restrained in the same manner. When Marisa and Sanae immediately walked over, they saw their friends in captivity.

"All right. I'll handle this. Don't worry about your friends, Sanae and Lisa. I'll get them free as well." Chris responded back, handing his rifle to Piers, before immediately using the console to unlock their restraints, as messages confirming it appeared on the screens. However, the messages were short-lived, as the screens immediately turned angry red, with the word 'WARNING' sprawled over the screens, as a alarm blared through the room.

"Well, so much for trying to make this quick and quiet." Marisa stated, before she immediately loaded her grenade launcher. "Well, I specialise with extermination of anything that gets in my way, especially by exploding them to bits and pieces."

"We gotta go!" Piers yelled, as he handed back Chris his rifle, as they immediately turned around, ready to fight off the incoming enemies. "Captain, can you pinpoint their location?"

"They're in some sort of research bay. We can get there from the lower levels." Chris answered back, before they made their way out of the room, through a passage that was low enough to crawl through, before finding themselves in a large room, as there was a large gap before them, and in that gap is a turbine that was spinning rapidly.

"Piers! I need you to scope out an area for me!" Chris shouted, as he pointed at the area on the other side of the gap.

"I'll join you, Piers." Sanae answered back. "Help me across, please, Lisa!"

"Alright, got it." Marisa answered back, as she positioned herself to boost Sanae across, as Chris did the same.

Piers and Sanae immediately were vaulted across the gap, as they looked around for anything to note. Marisa then looked down, as she saw the air duct behind the turbine was big enough for them to get through, although they first need to stop the blades somehow.

"Say, if any of you find something to stop those blades in the air duct, we can use that to get through ourselves." Marisa told Piers and Sanae.

"We're looking for it." Sanae responded back, before she managed to find a lever, as she pulled it down, as the turbine blades came to a stop. "Alright, it's off."

"Roger. We're going in." Chris said, as he and Marisa jumped down, before entering the turbine.

As they did, they soon heard the sound of the sentient creatures from the aircraft carrier immediately making their way into the room, as they took position on the machine-gun turrets on the other side of the room, as they fired mercilessly at both Piers and Sanae, who quickly whipped behind cover before the bullets came their way.

"Ah, for Christ's sake!" Piers cursed, as he peered out slightly, before zipping back in, when he almost got his head torn by a stream of bullets.

"We can't even move aside with all this gunfire aimed at us!" Sanae shouted to Chris and Marisa.

"I'll see what I find here. Wait for my command!" Chris responded back to both of them, as they made their way through the air-ducts, before they found the shooting creatures, above platforms that were patterned, with holes to shoot out of.

"You shoot them. My grenades can't pass through those holes." Marisa told Chris, before she made her way deeper into the air ducts. "I'll for anything else. You just help the others out, alright?"

"Got it." Chris answered back, before he shredded the creatures manning the turrets from below with his rifle.

As Marisa proceeded through the passage, she was stopped, when she found that there was another set of moving turbine blades that was blocking their way forward. She immediately waited for the gun-fire to cease, before she called up towards Piers and Sanae.

"Hey, we got another set of blades in our way." Marisa told the pair that are above them.

"I'm on it. Just give me a minute." Piers answered back, before he made his way towards the lever, before pulling it down, stopping the turbine blades. Marisa and Chris pushed past the blades, as they found a small chute that seemed to lead them down to another level in the facility.

Both Chris and Marisa slid into it, as they landed down on the floor, right behind two unsuspecting creatures. They slowly sneaked behind the creatures, before dispatching them with a shot to the head for Chris, and smashing the head on the wall with enough force to pulverise the head from Marisa. They soon back-tracked through the corridor, finding a elevator that they could use, and immediately entering it, before pulling the lever to power up the elevator, and entering it, moving it up to the level where Piers and Sanae were.

"Piers, Sanae. I've restored power to the elevator." Chris informed the other pair.

"Copy. We'll rendezvous with you up ahead." Piers stated. "We found where the elevator is from where we are." Piers answered back, as Marisa immediately pressed to close the elevator doors, as it slowly ascended up to the floor. "Just let me finish clearing the area around us first."

As the elevator made its journey, Piers and Sanae took out the creatures that were attacking them, before the elevator immediately opened up, as Chris and Marisa joined in on the ensuing fire-fight, easily dispatching the threats, before Piers and Sanae moved back into the elevator, as the elevator closed up, before descending down to the lowest level it could bring them.

When they moved out of the elevator, they found themselves sweeping through a set of rooms, as creatures attacked them from all sides, forcing them to keep a vigilant eye out for them. Eventually, they managed to find another elevator, which was already powered and at the ready, as they entered it, before descending into a large room, with lots of chutes and a large catwalk around the power generator of the facility block.

As the group looked around for anything interesting, they made their way towards the levers that controlled the airlock linking sequence. Chris and Piers immediately pulled them down, as there was the sound of something rumbling in the facility, as Sanae watched through the window on the door, that the airlock on the other side was proceeding slowly towards their side of the facility.

"Engaging airlock. Connection to research block initiated." The female voice of the facility declared. "Please wait until the connection is complete."

"So we got to hold out until then...? I have a feeling that we're going to be busy for the time being-" Marisa remarked, before she turned around and saw the creatures that were surging into the room through several entrances. "...Of course. Obviously the creatures knew that we were going to be forced to stay around here."

Suddenly, one of the creatures immediately moved towards the lever controlling the chutes in the room, as they immediately spat out hardened cocoons created by the C-Virus, as they seemed to be inert, although the four of them knew that they were going to break open some time soon, and whatever emerged wasn't going to be something easily fought.

"Someone has to stop them from getting to the lever on the chutes...!" Sanae exclaimed. "We can't let them bring any more of those cocoons in!"

"I'll handle it. You just clear the room of those creatures." Marisa answered back, as the group immediately engaged the enemies in the room currently, as Marisa took the liberty of blowing several unhatched cocoons to pieces with her grenades, to ensure that they wouldn't be able to hatch and cause them more trouble.

"Hello stranger." The voice of the Ada impostor rang through the room.

"...Ada?" Chris remarked.

"No, it sounds more like that impostor that we witnessed getting shot." Marisa answered back, as she immediately gibbed a creature trying to make for the chute lever.

"Yup. It's me. Or should I say... was me." The voice continued. "Consider this my little parting gift to you. If you made it this far, I'm assuming that you're BSAA. Not that it matters. You still won't stop my plan. No one can. One missile and this world will be transformed into a new 'Eden'. For my last... and greatest creation. He will thrive in the ashes of the burning cities, conquering all that remains after the fall. He will reign king of the new era!"

"Something tells me this 'new creation' isn't a pillow pet." Piers commented on the impostor's mocking words.

"You don't say. Whatever it is, it must be right in this place, waiting to be unleashed." Marisa stated. "We're making a secondary priority of blowing this thing to pieces before we finish the rescue, even if it means taking this entire place to do so."

"Piers! Can you get through to HQ?" Chris asked Piers.

"No. Not unless we get topside." Piers answered back.

"So we're on our own." Chris stated. "All right. Let's get Jake and Sherry, as well as their new friends outta here. Come on, all of you!"

As the group fended off the enemy, they heard the sound of the airlock clicking in place between the two blocks, before it was replaced by the sound of faint hissing.

"Connection complete. Pressurising area now." The female voice stated. "Please wait until air pressure levels have normalised."

"Well, I think that we've just got to hang in a little longer then?" Marisa stated. "Because I think that we've got the entire facility crashing down on us right now!"

"Yeah, the sooner the procedure gets done, the less trouble we'll have finishing up." Piers answered back.

"I agree. We can do this." Sanae answered back.

As the group endured the growing wave of enemies, they soon heard the hissing sound immediately halt, accompanied by the announcement by the facility's voice.

"Pressure normalised. Connection procedures complete. Disengaging the safety lock." The voice rang.

"Now's the time! GO!" Sanae shouted, as the group immediately turned their back on the enemies, before outrunning the gunfire and the enraged mutated creatures chasing after them, pulling open the airlock doors as one, before shutting them quickly before the creatures could get to them, and rushing through the entire length of the connected passage, and pushing right through the doors to the research block.

When they closed the door behind them, they looked around, as they found themselves in a large cylindrical room, which had floors upon floors of rooms and passages all above them, as there was a enormous cocoon that was hanging above them menacingly, as Marisa looked at it with wide eyes.

"Woah, that is one fucking big cocoon. I think that this is the little 'pet' that the impostor was talking about earlier..." Marisa muttered to herself.

"Chris!" Sherry shouted, as they all turned to see her, Jake, Gus and Meiling rushing towards them.

"Glad to see you're OK." Chris nodded.

"Wait, was that you who just freed us then?" Gus asked.

"Yep. It was us. We managed to get down here and find the console for it in the first room we broke into." Marisa stated, before she grinned widely. "Pure luck, eh?"

"We don't have time to talk." Meiling harshly scolded Marisa, before pointing up at the cocoon above them.

"Yeah, about that..." Sanae responded back, as she looked up to the cocoon as well.

"Looks like you guys saved the day again." Jake dryly stated, as he wandered past the entire group.

"I can see your father in you, Jake." Chris responded back, which caused Jake to immediately stop where he was.

"How did you know where-?" Sherry was about to ask, before Jake turned around.

"Wait, hold on a second." Jake said. "So you knew him?"

"Yeah. I did." Chris nodded slowly, as Jake moved closer towards him. "And I'm the one that killed him."

Jake was silent, as he didn't say a single thing, looking towards Sherry, who immediately shrank away. And suddenly, he drew his gun, pointing it at Chris's head, causing Piers to raise his rifle at Piers, and give Gus and Sanae a fright, as Marisa turned around to face the both of them, and Meiling silently observed the situation.

"It was you?" Jake asked back softly.

"That's right." Chris confirmed.

"Chris...!" Piers warned Chris with a worried tone .

"You better put a leash on that puppy." Jake dryly responded back to Chris.

"This is between me and him." Chris responded back, raising a hand, gesturing for Piers to lower his weapon. After a few moments of hesitation, Piers did so.

"Wait... Jake, you're not seriously thinking of-" Gus was about to say.

"You heard him. It's between us." Jake growled back, silencing Gus immediately.

"Go ahead, shoot." Chris calmly answered back, as he walked towards Jake, inching his forehead closer to the gun's barrel. "You have every right to."

Jake immediately cocked back the hammer of the gun, as Chris didn't even twitch in response. "Just promise me you'll survive. The world depends on it." He continued.

"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do!?" Jake burst, placing both of his hands on the gun, and placing the gun closer to Chris's head.

"Stop it!" Sherry shouted loudly.

"Put your gun down now!" Piers ordered Jake, raising his rifle again at him.

Chris and Jake didn't move or speak for a while, before Jake broke the silence. "Tell me, were you just following orders, or was it personal?" He asked firmly.

"...Both." Chris answered back, as Jake narrowed his eyes in response.

"Jake, please stop!" Sherry begged to Jake.

"...Before I put a bullet in your head!" Piers threatened.

"You don't have to do this, Jake. I know what you are feeling right now but-" Gus said.

"Calm down!" Sanae yelled to Jake. "I know that Chris killed your father, but now's not the time to-"

All of the conversations were cut short, when Jake roared, before he fired his gun, shocking everyone momentarily.

When Marisa traced the path of the bullet, she saw that it hit the wall beside Chris, and there was a large gash on Chris's right cheek, as it was grazed by the bullet that Jake fired. Chris looked at the gash, before back to Jake, whose expression was still fairly calm.

"There are more important things at stake than you and me." Jake told Chris.

Chris merely closed his eyes in agreement, before the entire facility block shook, causing everyone to turn their attention to the hanging cocoon.

"We gotta go!" Piers shouted.

"Jake!" Sherry called out her partner.

"I know!" Jake shouted back, before he turned away, holstering his side-arm, as he joined the others, watching the cocoon begin to sway and shake.

"Guys! I think there is some sort of lift! There's one over there, too! Let's get out of here quickly!" Sherry exclaimed.

Sanae immediately heard the sound of something beeping, as she moved towards the source, which was a computer terminal, which had a wire-frame copy of the planet, as there was a small point of red starting at China, before it slowly spread out across every continent on the planet. On it were the words 'HAOS Release Simulation', as there was a indicator showing the percentage of the planet consumed by the angry red zone, with the words 'Infection Rate' above it. The entire simulation stopped, when the infection rate reached a flat 100% of the planet, which terrified Sanae.

"Guys... I think that we're peering right at the end of the world as we know it..." Sanae informed everyone about her findings. "That thing... It'll infect every single living being on the planet, if it is left unchecked..."

"Then we'll stop it here and now. Simple as that." Marisa answered back.

"If that thing hatches and manages to escape... I would believe that there is no conventional force big enough in this world to put it down for good." Meiling told everyone. "That's assuming that it shares the same traits as the other C-Virus infected."

"Yeah, whatever this thing is, it is a biological terror capable of destroying the world by its mere presence alone..." Gus responded back. "We would be in dire straits if we don't find a way to take down this thing."

Yhey made their way to the two elevator platforms, as there were levers to start it up on each one of them. "Alright, who's going with who? We're going to have to split ourselves up, so that we got both sides of the ride covered." Marisa asked Gus.

"Me and Ling will help out the BSAA operatives." Gus stated. "You and Sanae go support Jake and Sherry. They're in need of your explosive firepower here."

"Well, when you put it like that... Alright then." Marisa responded back, as the two groups immediately took their place on the elevators, before they pulled the levers, as they both started to circle around the room in opposing directions while rising.

"You know, you didn't have to put yourself on the line like that." Piers stated to Chris. "Wesker deserved what he got. You did what was right, you kept this world safe."

"He was still his father." Chris answered back. "The kid had the right to know."

"That's true. Even if their father had done unforgivable things..." Gus commented. "That doesn't mean that Jake won't need to know about all of this. At least this way, there is closure."

"...We got more J'avo incoming." Meiling warned the group, as they noticed the same creatures that attacked Chris's group before, jumped down and fought with the group on the small elevator platform. "I should tell you that we found out that these are still J'avo, but they have been enhanced to act as super-soldiers of some kind. Hence the name given to them: 'Super J'avos'."

Meiling immediately baited one of the knife-wielding Super J'avo to charge at her, before she immediately knocked them off the platform, sending it screaming down into the large bottomless pit in the middle of the room. Chris and Piers used their rifle to take out the enemy Super J'avo with head-shots, with Gus disabling them before-hand.

When Meiling looked at the other platform, she could see Jake, Sherry, Marisa and Sanae being attacked by the Super J'avo as well, as they seemed to fare well on their side of things.

"Well, I'll tell you that much." Piers remarked, before she punched a Super J'avo with a hook, dazing it, before blowing its head off with a burst of gun-fire. "I can't say that I've lacked for adventure working with you."

"Sorry. I know it's never been easy being my partner." Chris answered back "Once we get outta here... all that's going to change."

As Jake took out the last of the Super J'avo on their platform at the current moment, he immediately turned to Sherry.

"Listen... Jake." Sherry stated.

"Spare me the lecture, all right? We need to find a way outta here." Jake answered back.

"I was only trying to- look, when this is over, please, just talk to Chris. And not down the barrel of a gun, okay?" Sherry requested Jake.

"It's my problem, not yours." Jake responded back. "Besides, I don't wanna think about that asshole or my father right now. I can worry about them if and when we get out of here."

Suddenly, several doors above them opened, revealing the Super J'avo hiding behind them, as some of them jumped onto the moving elevator platforms, while others simply took aim at the group and firing, forcing them to dodge the bullets, as well having to neutralise the threats on their platforms.

"You know, Jake. I'd have to agree with one thing." Marisa remarked, as she fired a grenade right at one of the standing Super J'avo, blowing them up. "Chris is an asshole, especially when he almost got his entire team killed chasing after one damn snake. However, he's making up to it in his own way, by actually making things a lot easier for us all. So let's just take care of the matters here, and then we can discuss about what we should be doing then."

"Pft. Don't need you telling me." Jake scoffed.

As the last of the Super J'avo in the room has been eradicated, it was not long, until the two platforms reached their destinations, immediately clicking onto the side of a large platform, which led to a door that seemed to lead towards another part of the facility.

Suddenly, the cocoon began to shake again, as the hard exterior was being cracked open, as some sort of figure covered in the maroon colour of the soft inner shell coating was bulging outwards. Everyone immediately raised their weapons at the cocoon, prepared for whatever monstrosity was going to come out of the cocoon at the moment.

The figure immediately pushed outwards, as the coating stretched further and further, until it immediately burst off, revealing the creature inside to be a gargantuan humanoid creature, with translucent skin, large and small tentacles on its body, orange tumor-like growths around its torso, as the skin showed the human-like skull inside of it, as well as the partial skeleton formed inside of it. Everyone was shocked by the creature's appearance.

"Dear gods... What is that...!? This is HAOS!?" Sanae exclaimed, with a expression of disgust.

"That is one messed up bastard." Marisa commented. "Looks like 'big and ugly' fits this creature the most."

HAOS immediately turned towards the group, before it raised one of its elongated arms up, before swinging it towards where the group was standing.

"Look out!" Chris shouted to everyone, as they immediately dodged away from the moving appendages, as it immediately slammed down on the platform they were standing on, breaking it off the metal structure it was connected to. Chris, Piers, Marisa and Sanae were knocked to another platform, while Jake, Sherry, Gus and Meiling were right at the door into the facility. The hook that was holding HAOS's cocoon immediately lost its grip, dropping the cocoon, as HAOS screeched in anger, falling down considerably, before it used its tentacles to latch onto the wall of the room.

"Chris!" Sherry shouted.

"Get moving!" Chris yelled back. "We got it from here."

"Wait, then what about you, Lisa!?" Gus exclaimed.

"We've got that ugly bastard to take down! Worry about working together with those two on getting out of here!" Marisa responded back. "Chris is going to need as much help as he needs against this slimy freak!"

"Lisa..." Gus muttered, before he was grabbed by Meiling who dragged him away. "Ling, what are you-"

"There is no time to talk." Meiling stated, pointing at HAOS, who was ferociously climbing back up towards them, as Jake pulled Sherry away.

"You've got a job to finish." Jake reminded Sherry, before the four of them immediately disappeared behind the closing doors.

"Alright, it looks like that we're not in a proper place to fight this thing on even footing yet." Marisa stated. "Any ideas, Chris?"

"We gotta climb. The only way is up right now." Chris responded back, as they immediately started climbing up the massive service ladder together, as HAOS pursued after them

When they got to the top, they quickly jumped onto a spiralling passage heading up towards the top of the room, as they spared a single glance behind, as HAOS destroyed the ladder with the platform on top of it, before then slowly moving after them, smashing every platform off while it did.

"Hurry! He'll take us down with him!" Chris shouted, as everyone picked up the pace even further to gain distance from the abomination chasing them.

The group immediately found several places, where it was too high for them to jump onto, as Piers and Sanae were vaulted up by Chris and Marisa respectively, allowing them to pull the other two up, and let them all proceed with little delay. However, HAOS was also picking up the pace, as it screeched in what presumably could be defined as rage, before it managed to get in front of the four escapees, using its arm to block them.

"Looks like we're going to have to force it to get out of our way! Everyone shoot it with everything you got!" Sanae ordered everyone, as they immediately unloaded their weapons onto HAOS's head, causing it to flinch from the damage it received, allowing the four of them to reach another boost-point, as Piers and Sanae were safely vaulted up to the platform above them.

However, before Chris and Marisa could get the chance to grab the hand of their comrade, HAOS immediately recovered, before tearing the platform that the two of them were standing on, as both of them was knocked off their feet, sliding down the platform, before grabbing the edges, and holding tightly, as HAOS shook it in a attempt to make them fall down.

"LET THEM GO!" Sanae roared, as she immediately aimed right at HAO'S eye, firing precisely enough to hit the small organ, damaging it, and causing HAOS to clutch with a shriek of pain.

It also dropped the platform it was holding, as both Chris and Marisa were slammed down on the platforms, before they immediately got back up with the help of Piers, before they continued their way up, finding a elevator that would take them out of the tall room they were in, as HAOS chased after them, roaring the entire time, which was heard even in the elevator itself.

When the elevator doors opened, they found themselves in a circular room, which was connected to the room below by a large metallic hatch, as it was slowly closing, as the entire floor of the room was filled with water, which was falling down into the large hatch in the centre of the room. They watched as HAOS crawled out of the room itself, pulling itself up, before the hatch closed right on the lower half of its body. With a cry of agony, it tore itself free, spilling its blood everywhere, although it didn't seem to be deterred at all by the loss of its own flesh and blood.

"You got to be kidding me! That thing's still alive after that!?" Piers exclaimed with disbelief.

"Well, this thing got to be resilent, or it would be easily wiped out..." Marisa responded back. "Either way, we'll make sure that it won't be alive for long. EAT THIS!"

The group immediately attacked HAOS from afar, dodging its swipes and the attacks from its multiple tentacles, as Marisa repeatedly blew off the smaller tentacles with her grenade, which continuously regenerated every moment, but seemed to have an effect, as HAOS was slowing down and flinching harder with each severe blow it was taking. After a few moments, HAOS began to writhe in pain, before it immediately stopped moving.

"Did we... do it?" Sanae asked, as she lowered her rifle, before she heard metal whistling through the air, heading right towards her, as she dodged to the side, avoiding a sharp piece of metal that would have lodged itself in her head. "What the...!?"

The group looked up, as the entire structure above them was falling apart, with metal pieces falling everywhere, before the glass panes above shattered one by one, causing water to flood in, as the four of them immediately tried their best to resist the flooding currents, before the entire room was mostly filled with water.

They all dived into the water, swimming past the wires and falling metal pieces of the facility structure, before they resurfaced right in front of a door that would take them to the glass passages that connected the blocks together.

"You alright?" Chris asked everyone, as Marisa was coughing up some water, and Sanae was patting some water out of her ear, and shaking her head to dry it off.

"I've been better..." Piers answered back, as he got up on his feet. "Come on, let's get moving."

The four of them immediately pushed through the door, as they slowly walked through the glass tube passages, as they could see the deep sea around them. However, their peaceful walk through the passages was interrupted, when something slammed onto the glass in the part of the passage that they were currently at. When they got a better look, they saw the perpetrator was HAOS, who seemed to be unaffected by the aquatic environment it was inside of it, as it rammed the passage again, causing the glass to crack slightly in response.

"Son of a bitch!" Chris cursed, before HAOS hit the passage again, causing everyone to be knocked off their feet.

"Captain! We're out of time here! We got to go!" Piers shouted, as they all got onto their feet, and ran through the passage.

Suddenly, one of HAOS's hands broke through the passage, causing water to leak into the passage, as the hand itself was blocking the way forward.

"FUCK OFF!" Marisa swore, as she immediately bombed the hand with her grenade launcher, causing it to retreat, as the group continued running, while HAOS assaulted the passage with its appendages.

When they seemed to have reached the mid-way point to the nearest facility block, HAOS hit the passage again, causing Piers to fall backwards, falling towards a broken part of the passage, which was rapidly flooding with water. Not only that, but the metallic barrier to halt the flooding of the section was dropping down. However, Chris immediately got down and placed both hands under the barrier, lifting it up with all of his might. Sanae and Marisa immediately did the same, as they held the barrier up for Piers, who was slowly climbing back up, before he rolled under the barrier, as the three of them backed off and let the barrier close down the section.

"Thanks, all of you." Piers gratefully acknowledged his captain and both of the mercenaries, before they immediately rammed through the doors, as they continued their escape from both HAOS and the massive flooding taking place due to the former's actions. Suddenly, HAOS immediately burst through the passage itself, with its full body inside of it, crawling towards them, with water flooding after it.

"You got to be kidding me...! How long will it take to get this thing to stay down!? And how badly does it want us dead!?" Sanae yelled, having been fed up with the recent chain of events.

"Shut up and keep running!" Marisa scolded Sanae, as the four of them ran as fast as they could away from HAOS, who was smashing through flooding barriers as if they were paper with a swipe of its arm, before they managed to reach the large gate that led them to safe ground, as they slid under the closing gate together.

However, when they turned around, they saw HAOS immediately jam a hand under the gate itself, before lifting it up, and pulling itself in. As it did, it immediately raised it right arm, looking towards Chris, and aiming for him.

"Captain!" Piers shouted, before he immediately shoved Chris away, before HAOS grabbed him by the right arm. As Chris rolled across the floor, Sanae and Marisa immediately fired at it, trying to force it to let go of Piers.

However, it merely screeched back, before using one of its tentacles to slam both of the women right into a nearby wall, as they were both severely stunned, as Sanae slammed head-first into the wall, giving her a nasty concussion, that caused her vision to swim. Marisa immediately got up slowly, before she immediately saw the large bruise on Sanae's head, which was turning red, as if she was suffering from internal bleeding.

"Shit... Sanae, are you alright!?" Marisa asked Sanae with a worried tone, helping Sanae up to her feet.

"My head hurts, and my vision is blurred..." Sanae answered back, as she tried to clear her vision by blinking repeatedly, although it did little effect to help her vision. "Well crap... I can't see well right now."

Marisa turned to Chris, who was firing at HAOS. HAOS then immediately threw Piers right at another wall, as Piers landed right into one of the protruding metal poles that jutted out, piercing his right arm, and causing him to scream in utter agony, as it tore through his muscles.

"Piers!" Chris shouted, as he rushed towards Piers in order to help him.

However, HAOS had other plans with Piers, as it took a nearby slab of metal and threw it at Piers like a skipping stone, as it bounced off the ground, before hitting Pier's impaled arm, crushing it completely, bone and flesh, as Piers screamed even more in agony. And with only Piers in his sight, Chris didn't notice HAOS's hand grabbing him by the torso, and pulling him closer towards it, as Chris tried to tear himself from its grasp.

"Crap! Chris!" Marisa exclaimed, before she immediately placed Sanae on a faraway corner in the room, as Sanae was slowly recovering from the blow she took to the head. Marisa immediately loaded her grenade launcher, as she immediately fired at HAOS. "Die already! We've already had enough trying to get rid of you!"

HAOS responded with a roar, before it immediately used another of its tentacles to swipe at Marisa, who dodged it by sliding under, as she continued to pelt the biological terror with her grenades, to little effect.

Piers immediately saw Chris in danger, as he immediately pushed forward, as his crushed arm was beginning to snap and tear from his body, as he let out a cry filled with determination and perseverance, as he pulled himself away from the wreckage that pinned him to the wall, tearing his right arm from him, as blood spilled from the torn limb profusely, and Piers fell forward, as the C-Virus syringe that he held immediately clattered out of him, rolling across the floor. When Piers saw it, he immediately crawled for it, while Marisa and Chris kept HAOS occupied.

"Goddamnit...! Why isn't it working now!?" Marisa exclaimed with outrage. "Has it... adapted to defend against explosives now!? Damn it!"

As she prepared to reload her grenade launcher again, she was taken off-guard by one of HAOS's tentacles, which slammed her flying across the room, as she slammed hard right onto the wall, as she was left dazed severely by the attack.

Piers then managed to get to the C-Virus syringe, as he didn't hesitate to stab it into his bleeding stump, letting out a groan of pain. As he slowly stood up, Sanae began to recover from the effects of her concussion, as her vision returned quickly, allowing her to see the emptied syringe clatter on the floor, beside a wounded Piers, as she knew what had happened.

"No..." She mouthed, as Piers groaned again, before from the stump of his arm, a grotesque one was created, as it was a terrifying combination of flesh and metal, as the metallic spikes jutting out of it sparked with electricity.

Piers then slowly walked towards HAOS, as he charged up his own mutated arm, before letting out a roar, unleashing great arcs of lightning that struck HAOS, causing it cry out in agony, dropping Chris down to the ground. As it did, the gate began to crush what remained of its lower half, as blood spilled again and it squealed in agony.

Chris immediately moved away from HAOS, who was slowly hardening itself into a cocoon, and then turning to Piers with a horrified expression. "Oh god, Piers! What did you do!?" He asked his partner.

Piers didn't respond, as he was groaning, as if he was trying to fight off the infection that was seeping through both his body and mind. Sanae slowly got up, as she approached both of them, and Marisa recovered herself, getting up to her feet, and looking at the cocooned HAOS.

"Well, this should be it for that thing, right...?" Marisa muttered, before she turned to Piers, with intrigued eyes. "Woah, that's some real freaky shit there, Piers."

"Piers..." Sanae softly said, saying nothing more, as she turned her head away with a melancholic look in her eyes.

"We have no time to talk right now." Chris told both Marisa and Sanae. "Piers is infected at the moment, and will require medical attention to curb that infection he gained. Not only that, but the facility is falling apart as well."

Chris then made his way towards the door on the other side of the room, trying to open it, before the facility voice sounded. "Pressure abnormality detected. Sealing all doors. Restore pressure to regulation levels to proceed." It announced.

He then immediately looked around, before finding a console, with the words 'Initialise Depressurisation?' on it, as he immediately activated the console.

"Depressurisation initialised." The facility voice responded back.

Suddenly, the group heard cracking sounds from the HAOS cocoon, as it immediately emerged out it, fully recovered, as it immediately crawled towards the group.

"FUCK!" Marisa swore, infuriated at how HAOS was shaking off everything it had endured, as if it was nothing.

"Piers, You have to fight it. Try to stay in control!" Chris warned Piers, as he answered back with a firm nod, as the infection was already starting to make its way up the mutated arm.

HAOS immediately made its way atop one of the large cages in the room, before then hacking up gross balls of slimy flesh towards the ceiling, as they stuck to it. Marisa immediately realised that they were dripping HAOS's slime, as she immediately fired a grenade, destroying them all with one hit.

Piers was rapidly shocking HAOS with streaks of lightning from his arm, as Chris and Sanae aimed for HAOS's head, trying to cause it enough damage to be stunned. Suddenly, after taking enough hits from them, HAOS's body immediately split into two, as the upper half was immobilised, and the lower half immediately wriggled around, trying to reconnect with the upper half, while flailing its various tentacles at the group. Marisa immediately fired grenades at the lower half, destroying it, as the upper half of HAOS immediately cocooned itself.

Piers then immediately charged up using his arm, before firing a great burst of lightning that shattered the cocoon, damaging HAOS greatly, as it fell onto its back, completely vulnerable at the moment.

"Now's our chance! Fire!" Piers shouted, as Marisa and Sanae aimed at the orange pulsating tumours on its chest.

Chris immediately rushed up to HAOS, before plunging his knife right into one of the orange tumour, causing HAOS to writhe in agony, before Chris pulled the knife out, rupturing the tumour, as HAOS rolled back onto its chest, and slunk away from the group, as it regenerated its lower half.

It then rushed at the group, before throwing its hand forward, as its fingers immediately elongated into solid tentacles that darted towards the four of them, as they immediately dodged out of the way, as Marisa countered with a few grenades right at HAOS's head, dealing considerable damage to it, and Piers fired a lightning burst that did even more damage to it.

As the group lured HAOS towards them, the group immediately assaulted it with their full force, causing HAOS's body to separate again, as Piers blew the lower half to pieces with a charged lightning burst, causing the upper half to cocoon itself again, which allowed Piers to strike it again, rendering it vulnerable.

"Alright, Piers, shove that arm of yours up that thing's body, and give it one hell of a shock!" Marisa told Piers, before she immediately turned to Sanae. "Sanae, you still got a knife with you?"

"Yeah." Sanae responded back, as she immediately brandished it. "I know what to do, Marisa."

As HAOS tried to recover, it was pinned down, when Piers jabbed his mutated arm right into its body, causing it to immediately spasm from the electrical charge surging through its body, as Sanae and Chris immediately stuck the remaining two tumours together, plunging their blades in, and cutting the tumours open in almost completely synchronised motions.

HAOS immediately screeched, as it wailed and screamed, wriggling around, before it immediately fell silent again.

"Well... If that doesn't do it..." Marisa commented. "At least it'll be down for quite a while. Long enough for the facility to do its job for us."

Sanae then turned to Piers, wondering what his conditions was, and instantly regretted it, when Piers's own infection spread all over his BSAA uniform, and took root on the right side of her face, as she could barely contain the horror that she felt seeing the gruesome sight that the infection brought onto her ally.

"Piers!" Chris shouted, as Piers was groaning in severe pain, before rushing over and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Come on! Just stay with me! You're going to be OK!"

"I'm sorry, Captain..." Piers responded back with a ragged voice. "I did it for the BSAA... For the future...!"

"I know. You did a real good thing." Chris answered back.

"Yeah, despite what you had to do in order to take that thing down..." Marisa said as well. "At least this way, we'll be able to ensure that thing will go down with this place most certainly. Come on, one last stretch, Piers. Maybe we might find something to help with that infection of ours."

"As long as you all-" Piers was about to reply back.

"I don't want to hear it!" Chris shouted back, before placing a hand around Pier's head. "We're all getting out of here, alright?"

Piers nodded silently, as Sanae turned away, as her attempts to hide her sorrow for Piers were weakening considerably.

"Let's go. We're getting out of here together." Chris responded, as the console for the door turned green, and the door hissed open, allowing the four of them to pass through the door, as they found themselves on a broken walkway.

"Warning. Facilities infrastructure compromised. Unable to withstand water pressure." The facility voice declared. "All personnel, please evacuate immediately."

They immediately hopped across the first gap in their way, before they were blocked by some sort of biological film that seemed too sturdy for their knifes to cut through.

"Stand back, all of you... I can kill this thing...!" Piers told everyone.

"NO! Stop, Piers! You've done enough." Sanae pleaded. "Just stop using your mutations for the moment... We... You need to stop yourself before the infection speeds up as a result of you using it...!"

"Then how are we going to get past then!?" Piers shouted back.

"I can." Marisa stated, before she immediately loaded a grenade in her launcher, and blowing the biological film apart. "I got more than enough grenades to cover your job. As much as we're pressed for time... I can do it for you, so take a break, Piers. You deserve it after screwing that icky bastard up before."

As the group made their way through the passage, which was falling apart close behind them, the facility's voice repeated the same announcement over and over, before the group managed to push past a set of doors, which seemed to lead them towards the escape pods for the facility itself. However, mid-run, Piers suddenly collapsed, as Chris got a closer look at Piers, whose infection was progressing to the point that his mutated arm was already swollen to the size of a monster's.

"Damnit..." Chris cursed.

"Just go!" Piers shouted back.

"No! You're going to be OK!" Chris shouted back, as he lifted Piers onto his feet. "We're almost there!"

They soon passed through the doors in front of them, as they saw the spherical escape pods in front of them, which were still mostly intact, despite the failing condition of the facility around them.

"Looks like we got our escape here..." Marisa stated. "Come on, let's go before we lose the chance..."

Chris immediately lowered Piers against the wall, near one of the escape pods. "See that? We'll be outta here in no time." Chris responded back, as Sanae quickly worked on the escape pod's console, as she was rapidly inputting commands, before she then pulled the lever of the console down, as the pod's front doors opened.

"Piers! Chris! It's done!" Sanae shouted.

"Get inside first! I need to carry Piers up!" Chris responded back, as Sanae and Marisa took their seats on the sides, as Chris lifted Piers up, before walking slowly towards the pod. "Here we go, Piers. We're all getting out of here."

As Chris moved Piers, the latter stared at his own mutated arms, which was beginning to pulsate, as the fleshy parts were slowly wriggling, before he then looked back at Sanae and Marisa. And then he mouthed something.

'_Catch him._' Both of the girls interpreted, as Sanae bowed her head in guilt, as Marisa closed her eyes, knowing that Piers were most aware of the situation that he was in, and nodded back.

Piers then immediately shoved Chris off him, as Chris looked back at him with a shocked expression.

"Piers, what are you-" Chris was about to answer back, before Piers suddenly tackled him, knocking him right into the escape pod. Piers then moved over the console, as he inputted the command to close the pod doors, as they slowly hissed shut.

Chris tried to get up as quickly as he could, before he banged his fists on the pod doors. "Piers! No, don't do this! Open the door!" Chris shouted through the doors.

Piers merely shook his head in response, as Chris growled. "Goddamn it, listen to me! We can still both get outta here! There's still time-!"

Suddenly, he felt something dragging him back, as both Sanae and Marisa were holding him by the arms and waist, trying to pull him away from the door.

"What are you doing!? Let me go, Piers-!" Chris shouted at them.

"-knows what kind of situation he is in." Marisa tersely answered back with a stoic expression. "Don't you realise that Piers is already infected to the point that there isn't any way to cure him to any degree?"

"What do you mean!? He is-" Chris yelled back, before he got a better look at Piers's state, as his entire body was being covered by the organic cocoon fluids of the C-Virus, and his arm was already mutated to a severe degree, with living tentacles on the end of it. "...Ah..."

"I don't want to do this, Chris..." Sanae muttered back quietly. "But Piers knows that he's a danger to the world if he remains... He'll eventually become nothing more than a C-Virus mutant, ready to start the infection all over again... So he's choosing to stay behind, so that the C-Virus will be eradicated completely."

Piers nodded in agreement with Sanae's words, before he immediately made his way to the console, as Chris, who was still struggling with both of the females clinging onto him, watched him with fear in his eyes. "What are you doing!? Don't, Piers! You can still make it out with us! The cure can still save you like this! You just need to endure it a little longer!"

Piers then immediately made his way towards the release latch, placing his uninfected arm on it, as Chris slammed the door with his fists. "Goddamnit, Piers!" Chris shouted.

"Shut up and let Piers finish his work, damnit! Or neither of us are getting out of here alive!" Marisa shouted back. "Are you so goddamn emotional that you would sacrifice the world above for your partner, when he's already willing to sacrifice himself!?"

"I refuse to accept that! I cannot let him do this! I CANNOT!" Chris roared back, before Piers pushed the release latch in, as the escape pod was prepared for launch. "NO!"

Piers then walked over towards the doors, as Chris looked at him with a serious expression. "Piers! Open the goddamn door! That's an ORDER!" He yelled back at Piers.

Piers merely looked at Chris silently, before his lips then formed a grim smile. "Afraid that's one order I won't follow... Captain." Piers answered back. "Can't let our work be for nothing... right? Take care, Captain. Don't let this happen again.

Suddenly, the escape pod was launched out, as Piers gradually disappeared from his sights. "PIERS!" He screamed in pure grief.

Inside the crumbling facility, Piers watched as the escape pod left the facility, before he then sighed.

"I guess that this is where I die then... Well, it's been fun working with you, the legend, Chris Redfield..." He muttered to himself, as the water began to flood the area around him.

As they slowly moved away from the facility, Chris immediately stared through the window, as he was completely silent. Marisa was standing by Chris, and Sanae was silently weeping out of their sight.

"...It's a shame that it had to come to this... Right?" Marisa asked Chris with a genuinely sympathetic tone. "You know, I don't blame you not wanting to leave your man behind. But sometimes... You got to respect the choice of others. After all, had you just believed in your men, then your squad would have never died. I guess Piers died driving the point into you, didn't he?"

"...I guess." Chris answered back, before he turned away with a expression of grief. "Piers..."

Suddenly the entire escape pod jostled slightly, attracting everyone's attention, as they all moved to the window, as they saw HAOS coming right after them.

"Son of a bitch...! Even right now!?" Marisa swore, before HAOS immediately grabbed the escape pod in both of its hand, roaring in what seemed to be triumph.

"Damnit..." Chris muttered.

Back in the facility, Piers immediately saw HAOS rush out of the facility, looking from the empty tunnel, as he immediately readied himself.

"Well then, looks like I got one last job to do..." Piers smirked, before he immediately charged up his own arm with all of his mustered might, drawing electricity from the facility surrounding him, even while it was at the verge of falling apart. He immediately roared, as the electricity gathered around him like a sphere of pure lightning, before he then unleashed it into a massive beam of thunder that arced out of the facility, heading right for HAOS, who was right in his sights.

The three occupants of the escape pod were surprised, as HAOS screeched in agony, as its body was being tore by the massively powerful surge of lightning aimed for it, as it fell back down into the facility, before it was engulfed by the exploding facility, finally eradicating it from existence, as the explosion's shock-waves caused the pod to rise sharply to the surface.

When they reached the surface, they found themselves right on the sea itself, as the orange sunset laid before them. The doors of the pod hissed open, as the three of them looked outside.

"Well... What do you know... It's sundown already..." Marisa remarked.

"What a beautiful sunset..." Sanae commented on the landscape surrounding them, with a smile.

Chris was looking towards nowhere in particular, before he then looked down at the item in his hand, which was Pier's bloodied BSAA shoulder-patch, before clenching it firmly, with a pained expression on his face.

Suddenly, the group heard the sounds of helicopters heading towards their direction, as they saw two of them coming, as they stopped on both sides of the pod. On one of them, Richard immediately stuck his head out.

"Oi~!" Richard shouted out loud, waving his hand at Marisa and Sanae. "You girls alright?"

"Yeah! We're fine!" Marisa shouted back, before she immediately jumped into the water. "Come on, Sanae! We're getting out of here, and back home!"

"Alright." Sanae stated, before she turned to Chris. "Chris... Before we go... I want to say that it was an honour working with you. I'm sorry for your loss, but I hope that you won't let it drag you down. Piers didn't die so that you would be in grief once again... He died, so that you could continue to make the world a better place in his stead. So please, hold your head up high, for the world still has need of the great legend that is Chris Redfield."

Chris looked back at Sanae, before he pocketed Piers's shoulder-patch and nodded back with a smile. "Thank you. And the same goes back to you, Sanae." Chris answered back.

Sanae blushed slightly, as she was fairly excited about seeing Chris Redfield smile back at her, although she quickly hid away her face, in order for the soldier to not see her blush. She then immediately jumped into the water to join Marisa. However, before the two of them left. Marisa immediately pulled out something.

"Hey, Chris! Catch!" Marisa yelled, before she immediately threw something at Chris, who immediately caught, as he opened his hand, and saw that it was a woven patch of the crest that their group wore. "Since you kept Piers's own as a memento, let's give you ours, so that you'll keep us in mind. After all, we did manage to save the world together, right?"

"Come on now! We still got the others to retrieve as well!" Richard shouted from the helicopter.

Both Sanae and Marisa immediately swam over to where Richard was, as he pulled both of them up, before their helicopter immediately flew out of the area, leaving only Chris and the BSAA helicopter, which immediately lowered a rope ladder, as one of its operatives was holding it steady.

"Captain Redfield!" The BSAA operative shouted. "Climb on up! We need to head back and get ourselves debriefed on this whole mess!"

"Yeah... I'll be right there." Chris answered back, as he immediately took the rope ladder, climbing onto the BSAA helicopter, as it too left the area.

* * *

_A few days later..._

Chris was in his regular bar, as he sat alone on one of the tables, dressed in his casual clothing, which was a jacket, and a wool jumper underneath, as he stared at his plate of steak and vegetables silently, before immediately cutting a piece up and chewing it, nodding as he found the flavour of the meat to his liking, before he stared at the patch that Marisa left him.

'_Say... I never did ask who those mercenaries truly were, save for their names..._' Chris pondered. '_For a bunch of mercenaries... They sure were one hell of a team-mate to work together with._'

Suddenly, as he was about to take a drink out of his coffee, he saw a fully dressed BSAA soldier standing before, immediately saluting towards his captain. "Captain. We've received new orders." He reported.

"All right." Chris answered back, before he got out of his chair. "Better get to it, then."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier responded back with a lively tone.

Both of them immediately headed out of the bar, as Chris prepared himself for the next mission he would undertake, as he kept the events of the past few days close to his heart.


	16. Jake Final Chapter

Unmei Force: Infection

Jake Final Chapter: End of a Hunter

* * *

_Inside a research facility under an oil field in Chinese waters..._

Jake and Sherry immediately came to, as they found themselves tied back-to-back on a board high off the ground, as their waist and hands were being restrained down by metal cuffs. As they looked around, they found that Gus or Meiling were nowhere in sight, no matter where either of them looked, as they found themselves in some sort of laboratory room, with research monitors, and lab equipment strewn everywhere.

"That's strange... Where did the other two go?" Jake asked. "I thought that they were captured along with us. Perhaps they might have..."

"No, don't think about it." Sherry responded back to Jake. "I doubt that either of them would be disposed of that easily. I think that they were dragged into here along with us."

"Yeah, I can say that much, since Grant was the second guy to get captured, with a blow to the back of his head to knock him unconscious." Jake grumbled.

"I'm sorry..." Sherry answered back with a tone of guilt in her voice. "I trusted Simmons, when Grant's friend told us otherwise... I should have believed him, or seen through his lies earlier. This is all my fault, for dragging you down like this."

"...You were just following orders, right?" Jake asked back. "I thought you were doing the right thing. Find the vaccine, save the world and all that. But I guess that we've been played for fools this entire time. But that doesn't mean that we can't make it right again by our own hands."

"Jake..." Sherry answered back, before a alarm pierced through the silence around them, as their restraints immediately opened themselves, causing the two of them to fall to the ground without any warning.

"What the hell just happened...?" Jake groaned, as he slowly got up, while Sherry rubbed her body gently, which was slightly sore from the fall. He then looked around, and saw their gear on the other side of the glassed wall ahead of them. "Hey! There's our gear!"

"How do we get in there though?" Sherry asked back, before Jake pointed at a air duct above them. "Oh, so through there?"

"Yeah." Jake stated, before he positioned himself to boost Sherry up, as she jumped up to the air duct. "Good luck in there."

"Thanks." Sherry answered back, as she immediately crawled through the air-ducts, as she cringed slightly when seeing organic residue of the C-Virus in the air ducts.

She then suddenly ran into a creature which seemed to be mostly made of black fleshy tentacles, as she was so surprised by the sudden appearance of the creature, that she fell out of the air duct by accident, as the creature dropped down after her.

"Sherry!" Jake shouted, as Sherry immediately got up, before she immediately made her way towards the weapons.

"I'm alright! Just give me a minute!" Sherry said, as she picked up her side-arm and fired at the creature, forcing it back away slightly.

"You sure, 'cause you don't look alright to me." Jake grumbled. "And break down the door, and save me the trouble from climbing through these air-ducts."

"Already on it!" Sherry shouted, as she turned her gun to the padlock that was controlling the door, as it short-circuited from the damage, allowing Jake to kick the door down. She then immediately handed Jake his gun back, as the creature rushed at them.

"Not bad, for a girl." Jake complimented Sherry.

"..My pleasure." Sherry commented back, as they immediately shot the creature to death, before they collected the rest of their weapons, as well as the ammunition for them.

When they exited the room itself, they found themselves in a relatively desolate floor, with a open elevator for them, as well as Gus and Meiling rushing over, looking like that they were unharmed at all from their capture beforehand.

"Well, look who it is." Jake remarked. "How did things go at your end, Grant?"

"Fairly well. Somehow, the restraints on us immediately loosened off, and we managed to get the door open, and get our own weapons back." Gus responded back. "You?"

"Had a close encounter with one of the C-Virus's damned by-products." Jake growled back. "Come on, we need to get out of here right now, so that we can finally get to doing the right thing to save this world."

They soon made their way to the elevator console, which was inside the elevator itself, as it showed a display that indicated the elevator was without any power for the moment.

"Electricity temporarily rerouted to incubation chamber." The facility voice announced. "To activate elevator, please attach reserve batteries."

"Looks like we need to search and find a few things before we can go." Gus sighed. "Try activating the levers on the side of the elevator, and see what it does."

Jake and Sherry did so, as the consoles beside them had one of their four red lights light up. "Reserve battery 1 activated. 25% charged." The facility voice reported the status of the elevator.

"So we need three more before we can use the elevator. Where could we be able to find any ones that would work with it inside this large facility?" Meiling pondered.

"Won't know until we find out. I suggest we head this way first." Sherry answered back, guiding the group towards one of the doors in the room itself. "Come on."

When they opened the door, they found that on the other side was a large tall room, with a large wheel-like platform that was moving up and down the height of the room, and down below them was hot lava itself.

"Huh, it's hardly practical, but we got no choice, if we want to get around this place." Jake grumbled, finding the method of transport between the levels before them to be a little risky to use.

"Really, there's no other way up?" Sherry asked. "Oh well..."

"Just be careful not to fall or lose your balance on it..." Gus warned the group, referring to the lava pit below them. "You really don't want to fall in there and die being burnt alive."

"Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence." Jake sarcastically retorted, before the platform moved down to their level, as the four of them immediately hopped onto it.

The moving platform rose up slowly, before it came to a stop before a open door, which had the large letter 'E' inscribed above it. All four of them immediately hopped through the door, as they found that there were two levers on the side of the door as well, as well as one of the slimy creatures that Sherry encountered before.

"We'll take care of it. You just get the reserve battery here activated!" Gus shouted, as he immediately drew his magnum and fired at the creature, the powerful shot knocking it back considerably.

Jake and Sherry immediately went to the levers, before pulling it down, as an announcement was heard from the facility's voice. "Reserve battery 2 activated. 50% charged."

The door in front of them immediately closed, as Gus managed to floor the creature, as he fired a shot that caused the creature to split into two. However, before either half could make a move, Meiling immediately crushed the lower half under her foot, before grabbing the upper half, and throwing it up, as Gus shot it through the head, killing it.

"So these creatures can split their bodies apart... Looks like we'll have to assume that they could attack from anywhere, if their size and figure can be easily changed." Gus stated, with caution in his tone.

"At least we're halfway there. Let's find a door to get back onto the moving platform from." Jake responded back, as they immediately explored the level, before they found another open door, as the platform moved up to where they were, and then rotated itself towards them, allowing them to jump on. The platform then descended to a level, with a door that had the letter 'C' inscribed on it, before they jumped through it, finding themselves in a room which had a lot of heavy sacks hanging from above. However, the group ignored them, and focused on eliminating the creatures that were inside the room, before activating the two levers inside of the room, as another announcement was heard.

"Reserve battery 3 activated. 75% charged." The voice stated.

"Just one more then." Gus stated, as he looked out of the door, and was surprised, when he saw that there was two moving platforms, as the top one moved down and turned around just in the right position for the group to hop on. The platform then moved up to a door marked as 'G', which seemed too far to jump across normally, and the only way across was using the horizontal pole in between their path.

"Well, it looks like we're going to have to split for a while." Jake stated, before Jake and Meiling jumped onto the pole, before entering through the door one by one. "See you on the other side, Sherry and Grant."

"Yeah. See you then, you two." Gus answered back, before the platform turned again, this time towards a door marked as 'H', as both of them jumped across, and entered the room, where there was a lever to operate a crane that was just outside of the room, and the same was inside the room that Meiling and Jake found themselves in.

The two groups then made their way through the corridors in front of them, as they moved around the floor, before they reached a point where they met each other, the two pairs separated by a grid of yellow lasers between them. They found the levers to activate the reserve battery on this floor, on their own sides, as they pulled it down, this time without any announcement.

"Looks like we might have finished with this one." Gus stated, before a creature immediately dropped down behind Jake and Meiling. "Look out!"

Meiling immediately reacted, as she grabbed the creature, and threw it right into the laser grid that was obstructing both pairs, as it was shocked severely by the laser grid, before falling forward right onto the lever that was pulled down, as the console beside it immediately began to spark with electricity.

"Unexpected power surge detected. Please use elevator for evacuation." The facility voice warned the group, as alarms rang through all of the floors, as the platform outside began to spin uncontrollably, due to the surge messing up with the platforms' control systems.

"What the hell! First there's no power, now there's too much!?" Jake exclaimed with outrage.

"At least the elevator still works. But damn... Sure didn't expect that..." Gus muttered.

"I must apologise for causing this, Jake." Meiling firmly told Jake with a repentant tone. "However, we must prioritise getting to the elevator first. I assume that there are levers to control the crane on your side of the floor?"

"Yes, we could use the crane to stop one of the platforms, so that we can board it." Sherry stated. "Let's hurry!"

The two pairs immediately rushed to the crane controls, as they pulled the levers, causing the crane to lower itself, stopping the out-of-control platform momentarily. After the platform had stopped, the four of them quickly hurried onto the platform, before another creature dropped down and lunged after them.

"I'm fresh out of patience, pal!" Jake exclaimed, as he was about to fire at the creature, before the crane broke with a explosion, as the platform suddenly started spiralling down, causing everyone to lose their balance. When the platform ground to a halt, only Gus and Meiling were able to maintain their balance, while Sherry and Jake were knocked off the platform, as they managed to catch the ledge of the bottom platform, before pulling themselves up.

"Jake! Sherry! You alright!?" Gus shouted back, as the two of them immediately made their way to the door.

"Yeah, we're fine. Just give us a moment." Sherry answered back, as the two of them immediately crawled across the platform, trying to get out between the platforms, before the top one would fall down enough to crush them like pancakes.

Meiling then noticed that the creature chasing them was still clinging onto the platforms, as it crawled up between the platforms, chasing after Jake and Sherry. However, the two of them out-sped it, as they got up and jumped for the door, landing right in front of Gus and Meiling, as the creature was snagged between the two platforms, screeching in agony, as blood poured out of its mangled body. However, it didn't suffer long, as the platforms exploded, loosening them and dropping into the lava pit below, as the creature was burned alive.

"Well, that takes care of that." Jake stated, before the four of them rushed to the elevator, as Gus pressed the button to make it go up, as they soon reached their destination, as the doors opened to reveal the large cylindrical room, which had floors upon floors of rooms and passages all above them, as there was a enormous cocoon that was hanging above them menacingly.

"What the hell is that...?" Jake asked.

"I don't know, but it can't be anything good."

Suddenly, they were interrupted by the arrival of Chris's group, who rushed in through another corridor on the floor, as Marisa looked up to the massive cocoon.

"Woah, that is one fucking big cocoon. I think that this is the little 'pet' that the impostor was talking about earlier..." Marisa muttered to herself.

"Chris!" Sherry shouted, as they all turned to see her, Jake, Gus and Meiling rushing towards them.

"Glad to see you're OK." Chris nodded.

"Wait, was that you who just freed us then?" Gus asked.

"Yep. It was us. We managed to get down here and find the console for it in the first room we broke into." Marisa stated, before she grinned widely. "Pure luck, eh?"

"We don't have time to talk." Meiling harshly scolded Marisa, before pointing up at the cocoon above them.

"Yeah, about that..." Sanae responded back, as she looked up to the cocoon as well.

"Looks like you guys saved the day again." Jake dryly stated, as he wandered past the entire group.

"I can see your father in you, Jake." Chris responded back, which caused Jake to immediately stop where he was.

"How did you know where-?" Sherry was about to ask, before Jake turned around.

"Wait, hold on a second." Jake said. "So you knew him?"

"Yeah. I did." Chris nodded slowly, as Jake moved closer towards him. "And I'm the one that killed him."

Jake was silent, as he didn't say a single thing, looking towards Sherry, who immediately shrank away. And suddenly, he drew his gun, pointing it at Chris's head, causing Piers to raise his rifle at Piers, and give Gus and Sanae a fright, as Marisa turned around to face the both of them, and Meiling silently observed the situation.

"It was you?" Jake asked back softly.

"That's right." Chris confirmed.

"Chris...!" Piers warned Chris with a worried tone .

"You better put a leash on that puppy." Jake dryly responded back to Chris.

"This is between me and him." Chris responded back, raising a hand, gesturing for Piers to lower his weapon. After a few moments of hesitation, Piers did so.

"Wait... Jake, you're not seriously thinking of-" Gus was about to say.

"You heard him. It's between us." Jake growled back, silencing Gus immediately.

"Go ahead, shoot." Chris calmly answered back, as he walked towards Jake, inching his forehead closer to the gun's barrel. "You have every right to."

Jake immediately cocked back the hammer of the gun, as Chris didn't even twitch in response. "Just promise me you'll survive. The world depends on it." He continued.

"Who the hell are you to tell me what to do!?" Jake burst, placing both of his hands on the gun, and placing the gun closer to Chris's head.

"Stop it!" Sherry shouted loudly.

"Put your gun down now!" Piers ordered Jake, raising his rifle again at him.

Chris and Jake didn't move or speak for a while, before Jake broke the silence. "Tell me, were you just following orders, or was it personal?" He asked firmly.

"...Both." Chris answered back, as Jake narrowed his eyes in response.

"Jake, please stop!" Sherry begged to Jake.

"...Before I put a bullet in your head!" Piers threatened.

"You don't have to do this, Jake. I know what you are feeling right now but-" Gus said.

"Calm down!" Sanae yelled to Jake. "I know that Chris killed your father, but now's not the time to-"

All of the conversations were cut short, when Jake roared, before he fired his gun, shocking everyone momentarily.

When Marisa traced the path of the bullet, she saw that it hit the wall beside Chris, and there was a large gash on Chris's right cheek, as it was grazed by the bullet that Jake fired. Chris looked at the gash, before back to Jake, whose expression was still fairly calm.

"There are more important things at stake than you and me." Jake told Chris.

Chris merely closed his eyes in agreement, before the entire facility block shook, causing everyone to turn their attention to the hanging cocoon.

"We gotta go!" Piers shouted.

"Jake!" Sherry called out her partner.

"I know!" Jake shouted back, before he turned away, holstering his side-arm, as he joined the others, watching the cocoon begin to sway and shake.

"Guys! I think there is some sort of lift! There's one over there, too! Let's get out of here quickly!" Sherry exclaimed.

Sanae immediately heard the sound of something beeping, as she moved towards the source, which was a computer terminal, which had a wire-frame copy of the planet, as there was a small point of red starting at China, before it slowly spread out across every continent on the planet. On it were the words 'HAOS Release Simulation', as there was a indicator showing the percentage of the planet consumed by the angry red zone, with the words 'Infection Rate' above it. The entire simulation stopped, when the infection rate reached a flat 100% of the planet, which terrified Sanae.

"Guys... I think that we're peering right at the end of the world as we know it..." Sanae informed everyone about her findings. "That thing... It'll infect every single living being on the planet, if it is left unchecked..."

"Then we'll stop it here and now. Simple as that." Marisa answered back.

"If that thing hatches and manages to escape... I would believe that there is no conventional force big enough in this world to put it down for good." Meiling told everyone. "That's assuming that it shares the same traits as the other C-Virus infected."

"Yeah, whatever this thing is, it is a biological terror capable of destroying the world by its mere presence alone..." Gus responded back. "We would be in dire straits if we don't find a way to take down this thing."

They made their way to the two elevator platforms, as there were levers to start it up on each one of them. "Alright, who's going with who? We're going to have to split ourselves up, so that we got both sides of the ride covered." Marisa asked Gus.

"Me and Ling will help out the BSAA operatives." Gus stated. "You and Sanae go support Jake and Sherry. They're in need of your explosive firepower here."

"Well, when you put it like that... Alright then." Marisa responded back, as the two groups immediately took their place on the elevators, before they pulled the levers, as they both started to circle around the room in opposing directions while rising.

"You know, you didn't have to put yourself on the line like that." Piers stated to Chris. "Wesker deserved what he got. You did what was right, you kept this world safe."

"He was still his father." Chris answered back. "The kid had the right to know."

"That's true. Even if their father had done unforgivable things..." Gus commented. "That doesn't mean that Jake won't need to know about all of this. At least this way, there is closure."

"...We got more J'avo incoming." Meiling warned the group, as they noticed the same creatures that attacked Chris's group before, jumped down and fought with the group on the small elevator platform. "I should tell you that we found out that these are still J'avo, but they have been enhanced to act as super-soldiers of some kind. Hence the name given to them: 'Super J'avos'."

Meiling immediately baited one of the knife-wielding Super J'avo to charge at her, before she immediately knocked them off the platform, sending it screaming down into the large bottomless pit in the middle of the room. Chris and Piers used their rifle to take out the enemy Super J'avo with head-shots, with Gus disabling them before-hand.

When Meiling looked at the other platform, she could see Jake, Sherry, Marisa and Sanae being attacked by the Super J'avo as well, as they seemed to fare well on their side of things.

"Well, I'll tell you that much." Piers remarked, before she punched a Super J'avo with a hook, dazing it, before blowing its head off with a burst of gun-fire. "I can't say that I've lacked for adventure working with you."

"Sorry. I know it's never been easy being my partner." Chris answered back "Once we get outta here... all that's going to change."

As Jake took out the last of the Super J'avo on their platform at the current moment, he immediately turned to Sherry.

"Listen... Jake." Sherry stated.

"Spare me the lecture, all right? We need to find a way outta here." Jake answered back.

"I was only trying to- look, when this is over, please, just talk to Chris. And not down the barrel of a gun, okay?" Sherry requested Jake.

"It's my problem, not yours." Jake responded back. "Besides, I don't wanna think about that asshole or my father right now. I can worry about them if and when we get out of here."

Suddenly, several doors above them opened, revealing the Super J'avo hiding behind them, as some of them jumped onto the moving elevator platforms, while others simply took aim at the group and firing, forcing them to dodge the bullets, as well having to neutralise the threats on their platforms.

"You know, Jake. I'd have to agree with one thing." Marisa remarked, as she fired a grenade right at one of the standing Super J'avo, blowing them up. "Chris is an asshole, especially when he almost got his entire team killed chasing after one damn snake. However, he's making up to it in his own way, by actually making things a lot easier for us all. So let's just take care of the matters here, and then we can discuss about what we should be doing then."

"Pft. Don't need you telling me." Jake scoffed.

As the last of the Super J'avo in the room has been eradicated, it was not long, until the two platforms reached their destinations, immediately clicking onto the side of a large platform, which led to a door that seemed to lead towards another part of the facility.

Suddenly, the cocoon began to shake again, as the hard exterior was being cracked open, as some sort of figure covered in the maroon colour of the soft inner shell coating was bulging outwards. Everyone immediately raised their weapons at the cocoon, prepared for whatever monstrosity was going to come out of the cocoon at the moment.

The figure immediately pushed outwards, as the coating stretched further and further, until it immediately burst off, revealing the creature inside to be a gargantuan humanoid creature, with translucent skin, large and small tentacles on its body, orange tumor-like growths around its torso, as the skin showed the human-like skull inside of it, as well as the partial skeleton formed inside of it. Everyone was shocked by the creature's appearance.

"Dear gods... What is that...!? This is HAOS!?" Sanae exclaimed, with a expression of disgust.

"That is one messed up bastard." Marisa commented. "Looks like 'big and ugly' fits this creature the most."

HAOS immediately turned towards the group, before it raised one of its elongated arms up, before swinging it towards where the group was standing.

"Look out!" Chris shouted to everyone, as they immediately dodged away from the moving appendages, as it immediately slammed down on the platform they were standing on, breaking it off the metal structure it was connected to. Chris, Piers, Marisa and Sanae were knocked to another platform, while Jake, Sherry, Gus and Meiling were right at the door into the facility. The hook that was holding HAOS's cocoon immediately lost its grip, dropping the cocoon, as HAOS screeched in anger, falling down considerably, before it used its tentacles to latch onto the wall of the room.

"Chris!" Sherry shouted.

"Get moving!" Chris yelled back. "We got it from here."

"Wait, then what about you, Lisa!?" Gus exclaimed.

"We've got that ugly bastard to take down! Worry about working together with those two on getting out of here!" Marisa responded back. "Chris is going to need as much help as he needs against this slimy freak!"

"Lisa..." Gus muttered, before he was grabbed by Meiling who dragged him away. "Ling, what are you-"

"There is no time to talk." Meiling stated, pointing at HAOS, who was ferociously climbing back up towards them, as Jake pulled Sherry away.

"You've got a job to finish." Jake reminded Sherry, before the four of them immediately disappeared behind the closing doors.

As the doors closed behind them, Sherry immediately pointed back at the doors with a outraged expression. "There is no way that they can take that thing!"

"Sherry, please have some faith in our friends, and Chris." Meiling advised Sherry. "I'm sure that they'll be able to defeat it, no matter what it would take."

"We are not going back." Jake stated firmly.

"But they're going to get killed!" Sherry pleaded.

"Then that's their choice!" Jake responded back strongly. "It's a sacrifice they're willing to make. Just listen to what the blonde lady with them said. They're ready to take on them, and we can't stop them at all."

"Jake..." Sherry stated.

"I'm not my father." Jake replied back, before pointing a finger at Sherry. "And I'm going to make damn sure that it stays that way. We're getting out of here, and you're going to save the world."

Sherry silently pondered Jake's words, before she nodded. "You're right. Let's go." She responded back.

"Lead the way." Gus nodded, as Jake immediately got in front of the group.

They made their way through the hallways, before they managed to reach a door that led them to the burning lava plant of the facility, as there were many sets of catwalks in the vast expanse of the room, and lava spewed periodically through the grated vents down below. Meiling looked around for any exits out of the entire area, which was quite hot, as she saw a door on the east side of the room.

"Over there!" Meiling shouted, as the four of them dropped down, before they carefully made their way across the catwalks. However, before they could drop down to another set of catwalks, they heard a grinding sound behind them, as the same grotesque and bulky monster that attacked both their group and Leon's group back in the airplane crash, except its mechanical arm was replaced by a reinforced and spiked metal chain-and-ball, as the group turned on their heels and drew their weapons.

"That thing... It wasn't really dead back when the radio tower crashed down on it...?" Gus groaned. "Looks like we're going to have to take him down again."

"Well, look who's back, with a vengeance." Jake remarked, before the creature immediately loosened its spiked ball, before it then swung it around, before then throwing it at the group, causing them to duck under the large ball of death coming their way, as it stuck itself into one of the pipes nearby them. With a jerk, the creature pulled the spiked ball out, as it smashed open one of the pipes, causing lava to spill out of the holes made.

It slowly walked towards the group, with the ball trailing behind it. "Enough of this cat and mouse bullshit." Jake growled. "Come get some, you ugly son of a bitch!"

The large hunter growled, before it rushed at the group, as they backed away from it.

"Guys, we gotta take this fight somewhere else! We don't have the space to dodge his attacks!" Jake shouted.

"I think in front will do." Gus stated, referring to the large network of catwalks ahead of them, as the group immediately jumped down onto it, with the monster following close behind, as the members separated away from each other.

"Alright, just keep on hitting him with all you got." Jake advised everyone. "I'm sure that we'll be able to wear that bastard down eventually, and then make our escape!"

The monster constantly dipped its metal spike ball into the below, before then aiming to hit either of the four with the ball, or even the lava spray that came out of the ball from the swing. However, the group made sure to evade the attacks, as they kept on firing on the creature from afar, with Gus firing magnum round after magnum round at its head, while Meiling often struck it from up close with her shotgun, before retreating back when it was about to retaliate back at her. Jake kept his distance, as he used his sniper rifle to pelt the monster from a safe distance, and Sherry was mostly using her sub-machine guns to pester it.

Eventually, it was enraged to the point, that it used the ball to destroy the catwalks around him, causing the group to drop down right onto the metal floor, which seemed to be resistant against the heat of the lava, as the creature jumped down to continue its attack on them. However, with much more free space, the group seemed to keep the monster under sever suppression as they fought, dodging the spiked ball, as well as the lava spray it creates from breaking the ground above it.

"Yeah, make more lava hole, you freaking idiot!" Jake mocked, as he fired a round that attracted the abomination's attention.

"He doesn't seem to care." Meiling stated. "After all, that monster is dead-set on eradicating us through all means. I don't think that it cares about the lava itself, but the fact that its trying to drop us into it."

"Well, it'll have to try harder than that!" Jake shouted back, as the group kept on attacking the creature, until it was stunned enough to fall onto its knees. "Sherry! Now! Ling! Help me tear this bastard's arm off!"

Sherry immediately jumped onto the creature's back, before pulling out the shock baton that she found in the Neo-Umbrella facility, activating it, as the monster was shocked severely, as it was left unable to move for the moment. Jake and Ling immediately latched onto the metal ball attached to the creature's right arm, before tearing it off together in a single pull, and throwing it right into the lava.

However, the monster immediately recovered before throwing Sherry off its back, right into Gus, before it then roared, before punching them across the room, right onto another set of catwalks, as Gus held Sherry tight, both of them sliding across the platform, as Sherry lost grip of her side-arm, causing it to drop into the lava. The creature then turned to Meiling and Jake, before grabbing them both by the throats, and throwing them onto the catwalk just beside the one that Gus and Sherry landed on. Meiling's shotgun met the same fate of falling into the lava, and Jake's gun was kicked in by the creature, who jumped after them.

"Looks like we're going to have to resort to bare fists with this one, Jake." Meiling stated.

"Well, this is more like it." Jake smirked, as he adapted a combat posture, snapping his neck and wrists in preparation. "Let's settle this the old way: Fists, mano a mano!"

Meiling immediately shifted herself into a defensive stance, before the two of them immediately clashed with the creature, as both sides traded blows with each other, with Jake and Meiling weaving between the heavy blows of the monster, and the two of them working together to strike the monster back with each hit they landed. When it tried to smash them, Jake immediately side-stepped through it, while Meiling slid under its legs.

Gus then noticed that there was a console on the end of the catwalk that he and Sherry were on, as he approached it, seeing that it was controls for the crate deliverance system, that was hanging above the catwalk where the fighting was taking place.

"Hold on! I might have a way to help you two out! Just try to lure him underneath one of the rails above you!" Gus shouted to Jake and Meiling, who looked up to see what Gus was referring to.

"No problem. Hit that bastard as hard as you can!" Jake yelled back, before he smashed his fist right into the hunter's body, knocking it back slightly, and right under the rails.

"Alright..." Gus stated, before he immediately moved the rail junctions to align underneath the creature, before he then pulled the lever down. "Take this!"

A heavy crate of metal rushed across the rails, before it collided with the creature, further dazing it, as it fell down onto one knee.

"Alright, time to end this!" Jake shouted, before he walked over, and slammed a hook right into the face of the creature. "FUCK OFF!"

Jake then immediately smashed heavy blow after heavy blow on the creature's head, speeding up as he went. Meiling then immediately lowered herself, as she slowly turned around, before controlling her breathing, closing her eyes, as her inner energy ran through her entire body, strengthening her in preperation for the final blow.

As Jake knocked the monster back with a uppercut, he then stepped back, before then running at the hunter that tormented him and Sherry for so long, and cocking back his fist. At the same time, Meiling jumped up, as she twirled through the air, as her leg burned up with flaming blue energy, something which Jake didn't notice due to his focus on the monster he was about to defeat.

Both attacks collided right onto the head of the monster, sending it flying right into the lava, as it struggled to stay afloat. However, things began to drop down towards it, and when a explosive barrel landed right onto its head, there was a massive explosion, that sprayed lava everywhere.

The four of them looked around, as they began to see that the facility was falling apart from unknown reasons.

"Let's get out of here!" Jake shouted to the others, before he and Meiling jumped to the other side, as they climbed up a ladder to get back to Gus and Sherry.

"We finally killed him..." Sherry commented with surprise.

"Piece of cake." Jake remarked back, before the entire group pushed through the doors, entering a large warehouse. "We're in some kind of warehouse. There's gotta be a way to move shit in and out quickly around here."

"Okay." Sherry stated, before they heard a loud rumbling sound, which sounded ominous. "We better hurry. Who knows how long this place will still hold for...?"

"I agree." Gus stated, before he and Meiling made for the doors on the other side of the warehouse, opening them. "Come on!"

The four of them went through the doors, as they closed behind them, and they found themselves on a large platform, which had several bundles of cargo already strapped onto it. They moved to the front,where they found two levers, that seemed to look like that they would cause the platform to start moving. However, the moment they pulled it down, the platform immediately shot off at a alarming speed, causing everyone to fall off their feet, as they tumbled through the air, before they managed to catch the ledge of the platform.

"Whoa, this is fast!" Sherry exclaimed loudly, due to the wind muffling her voice.

"Yeah, and there's no goddamn steering!" Jake complained, before they looked behind them, as flames were chasing after them, since the facility was being destroyed right behind them. Suddenly, from the flames itself, another moving platform emerged, and on it was the hunter that was thought to be dead, although it was severely singed, and most of its flesh was burnt away. However, it didn't seem to have weakened at all, as it roared while its platform collided with the one that the group were on, before it crawled after the group.

"Christ almighty! What does it take to lose this guy!?" Jake cursed, as everyone crawled away from it as quickly as they could.

"Come on! We have to move further up!" Sherry shouted, as everyone made their way to the first part of the cargo, which were metal crates filled with goods. "Jake! Up ahead! The cargo!"

"Good call! Let's cut it loose and give that bastard something to take on!" Jake responded back, before he immediately slammed his hand on the latch holding the cargo down, as a large canister of gases dislodged from the platform, flying towards the crawling hunter. "Take that, you asshole!"

The hunter was hit by it directly, sending it back several feet, before it caught onto the platform, and resumed crawling towards the others. The group then made their way towards a pile of metal pipes that was stacked neatly, as Gus went over and undid the latch holding the cargo tight, as one of the pipes flew towards the creature.

"Sorry, but we're not going to be dying here today!" Gus shouted, as the creature caught the pipe with one hand, before he then immediately moved his hand over to the barrier blocking the rest of the pipes. "If you think you can handle one, then have the rest... on the house!"

The creature was hit by all of the metal pipes at once, as it flew right into the air, before it immediately fired off some sort of grappling hook right on the edge of the platform, before it then shot forward, and then landed ahead of the group, before turning around and rushing at them.

"Ah fuck..." Jake cursed.

"Jake! The magnum!" Gus shouted, before he immediately pulled out the magnum. "There's still a few rounds in it! Use it! Take it down once and for all!"

Jake immediately swiped the magnum from Gus's hands, before he pointed it at the monster hunting them down, specifically, its beating heart, which was exposed through the holes of burnt flesh over its body. However, due to the speed of the platform, Jake's aim was shaky. However, Sherry moved forward, and used both of her hands to support Jake and steady his grip on the gun.

"This shit ends now!" Jake roared. "DIE, YOU BASTARD!"

The two of them fired every single last round of the magnum into the heart of the monster, as it was torn to pieces from the powerful shots. It immediately let out a gurgled cry, before spewing blood from its mouth, and then collapsing on the ground. It then bounced off the platform from the force it hit the ground at, sailing over the four survivors, and right back into the approaching flames behind them, as the flames burst forth, causing Gus and Meiling to lower themselves even more, and Jake to hold Sherry tightly.

After a while, Jake turned to Sherry. "You saved me..." He stated with a grateful tone, before turning to Meiling and Gus. "And you two did the same for us..."

"I guess that in these times, we found a common goal to work towards, and we managed to achieve that..." Gus responded back. "I guess this means that we're finally safe from all of this. Once the cure is made, there will be no more C-Virus terrorising the world..."

"Yeah... Thank you... all of you." Jake told everyone.

Sherry looked at Jake, before she then placed her hand over his own, as the two of them looked into each other's eyes for a moment, as the four of them rushed towards the end of the facility's tunnel, where there was a blinding light ahead of them. As they shot through it, they found themselves rushing down a set of rails, that passed through a large forest, with trees on both sides of the rails.

"Well, I guess that this is it for all of us." Sherry stated, before turning to Gus. "Thank you, Grant and Ling... You both have done everything to help us, and you helped to put an end to all of this, by working together with us to escape imprisonment twice already..."

"It is merely what anyone would have done, had they possessed the power to do so." Meiling humbly answered back. "I hope that this will restore the world back to its original state. No more of that horrifying virus, and no more suffering for those infected with it."

As the four of them slowly stood up, they watched as a helicopter flew over to where they are, as the platform slowed down a little, allowing the helicopter to catch up to it, as one of its side doors opened, as Reisen dropped a rope ladder out, for Meiling and Gus.

"Our mission is complete." Reisen told both Gus and Meiling. "It's time to join back together, and return home."

"We understand, Mira." Gus nodded, before he turned to Sherry and Jake. "Well, I guess this is farewell. Maybe one day, we'll meet each other again. But I doubt that would happen, unless we got lucky."

"Yeah, same to you, you magnificent bastard." Jake smirked back, as Meiling immediately took the ladder, but not before giving Sherry and Jake a dutiful salute.

Gus then turned to the ladder, before he immediately gripped it tightly, and turning back one last time to Sherry and Jake.

"One last thing..." Gus muttered, before he gave off a cheerful grin. "I wish both of you good luck in your future endeavours."

"Thank you. I hope for the same to you as well, Grant." Sherry warmly answered back.

Gus merely smiled, before he then climbed the rest of the ladder, before closing the helicopter door behind him, leaving the two agents alone on the moving platform, as the helicopter moved out of sight over the horizon.

"Well, I guess that I can safely say that we are most unlikely to see them ever again." Jake remarked, watching the helicopter go. "Still, I owe them quite a lot for the help that their members gave us during this entire disaster."

"I agree..." Sherry muttered. "And somehow... I feel like that we might never get any closer to getting to know them ourselves. And I think it's for the best of both parties."

The platform immediately passed through the forest, as the final destination of the platform, which was a large storage facility on the mainland, was visible ahead, nearby the city.

* * *

_In a flight back to America, several days later..._

"_Jake Wesker's blood sample was handed over to the UN's leading researchers, along with 6 months worth of test results retrieved from Neo-Umbrella's archives._" Sherry muttered the report she was writing. "_With the data now in the right hands, things seem to be finally settling down. Following Jake's rescue, BSAA officials classified his relationship to Albert Wesker as top secret, recognising the threat it could pose to global security. Also to note is that an unknown mercenary organisation has acted in assistance of all tasks regarding the quarantine and eradication of the infection. Reports regarding them are as follows..."_

After finishing her report on the incident, she immediately shut the laptop she wrote it on down, before she collected a cup of tea from an flight attendant, slowly enjoying it. However, her tea-time was interrupted, when her phone rang, as she pulled it out, and read the message on it, that was from Jake to her.

'_I lowered my asking price... to 50 dollars. Hope you can pay it, because I'm not going any lower._' was the message. Sherry then looked outside the window, as she wondered what Jake was doing.

Down below, on the sandy plains, Jake watched as Sherry's flight left, before he pocketed his phone, and then immediately ignited his motorcycle's engine, and putting on some black shades.

"Alright, time to see some more sights. After all, gotta find something to keep me busy while I wait for her to respond to the deal." Jake stated.

He then immediately drove off across the road, as he rode along to where the road would take him.


	17. Chapter 17

Unmei Force: Infection

Leon Final Chapter: The End of Ambition

* * *

_Inside the Quad Towers..._

The four survivors watched, as Simmons limped towards them, his pants almost torn into shreds, as his body looked far more injured than before, with blood leaking out of the crevices on his body.

"Back for more?" Leon asked.

"You just won't die, won't you, Simmons..." Richard snarled, as he raised the gun towards Simmons's head. "It always has to be all about you and your little delusion. I don't care if I have pulverise every single inch of your flesh to ensure you die properly... I will make it happen, Simmons, and you won't stop me. You WILL be dead at the end of this, I swear on the name of every single person who met their fates by your hands...!"

Simmons ground his teeth together, before a large searchlight shined onto him, as he turned up to see that it was Ada, inside a helicopter.

"I know what you did, Ada!" Simmons growled, as he raised a shaking arm towards Ada. "You disobeyed me! You took Wesker's son away!"

Suddenly, he began to convulse, as more blood spurted from the fleshy gaps on his body, coating it all over, while letting out a series of choked gasps. Suddenly, they all stopped, as he rose his head up, with steam pouring out of his body. "You used that bastard's blood to make the virus stronger!"

Simmons then screamed in agony, as his entire body shot out steam. Leon merely shook his head, as Helena narrowed her eyes, and Richard immediately aimed down his gun, and Reisen loaded several rounds into the sniper she was using.

"Hope you got friends on the other side, because no one is going to miss you here." Leon told Simmons.

"And when you finally fall to Hell where you belong... May those who have been condemned by you drag you into the deepest pits, where you will suffer the same agony and despair that you have inflicted." Richard hissed back with hatred in his voice.

Simmons suddenly transformed into a larger creature than before, as it resembled a tyrannosaurus-rex, except inside of its jaws, was a large bloodshot eye, roaring loudly, before charging at the group, who were stunned at the size of Simmons's new form.

"He's... huge!" Helena exclaimed.

"Oh boy... Everyone keep your distance from him!" Leon shouted. "I don't think you want to get hit by something as big as that!"

"I know! The more important thing is how we make that bastard hurt and collapse back into his vulnerable form!" Richard shouted back, as he dodged away, before firing a burst of rifle fire, that seemed to do nothing to Simmons, except irritate him.

"I think that the best way to deal harm to him, is to use the same method as we did fighting against the hunter from back before, where we met out friends, as well as Agents Jake and Sherry." Reisen stated, as she immediately aimed her gun at a explosive barrel which was nearby Simmons. "We should try to lure him towards the explosive barrels, and detonate them in proximity to him."

To make her point, Reisen immediately blew the barrel up, as Simmons recoiled significantly from the blast, before he immediately retreated back into his human form. "No!" Simmons yelled, before Ada immediately used the gatling gun on the front of the helicopter to pelt Simmons, knocking him to the ground, as Richard leapt onto him, smashing his fist across Simmons's head repeatedly, before he was knocked off of Simmons by a steam burst, as Simmons recovered quickly and reverted back into his dinosaur form.

Richard immediately moved back, as Simmons roared and stomped after him, allowing Reisen to get a clear shot at the eye inside of his mouth, stunning him momentarily, right next to another explosive barrel, which Helena detonated, once again causing Simmons to become vulnerable again.

"You... Damn you!" Simmons cursed, before he was knocked onto his back by a round-house kick from Reisen, who jumped onto him and fired sniper round after sniper round into Simmons's chest, causing him extreme pain, as she immediately jumped off him, before he could retaliate with a steam burst.

"Hey... That might actually work... Although I don't think that shooting him would be fairly effective with the messed up body he has now..." Richard remarked about Reisen's attack, while Simmons re-transformed back into a T-Rex. "Leon, could I borrow that shotgun of yours for a moment?"

"Go ahead." Leon stated, throwing the shotgun to Richard, who caught it perfectly.

As Simmons was lured to a explosive barrel, and dazed back to his normal form, Richard immediately rushed toward him, before smashing him with the butt of the shot-gun mid-run, flooring Simmons, before he then pinned Simmons down with a foot to the chest, before firing the shotgun repeatedly right at Simmons's head.

"Die, you fucking cockroach of a bastard!" Richard swore, as he pumped round after round into Simmons's face, before he was pushed off by a steam burst, as Simmons roared in rage, before then smacking his head onto Richard, knocking him across the plaza, as he smashed right onto the side of the metal obelisk.

Simmons then immediately grabbed Richard with his jaw, as Richard immediately positioned himself, so that the jagged bone teeth didn't pierce through his legs, as Simmons shook him around, as Richard shot at Simmons's head. However, when Simmons opened his jaws to bite down on Richard again, Richard immediately pulled out a grenade, and flung it right into Simmons's jaws, towards the eye inside.

"Bon appetit, asshole! Enjoy having this!" Richard exclaimed, before he immediately kicked out of Simmons's jaws, before making a rolling landing on the ground below, as the grenade exploded right on the eye, causing Simmons to scream in pain, as he reverted back to his human form, as Helena rushed towards him, and struck at Simmons with hook after hook, before she was knocked back.

"Uh, bad news... We don't have any more barrels to blow this fucker back to size..." Richard informed everyone. "Looks like we're going to have to use plan B then: Shoot the eye in his jaw!"

The group did so, as they found it to be a hard task, due to how Simmons's jaws remained closed enough to protect the eye inside, especially after the damage Richard dealt to it, but they managed to last Simmons out, before Simmons immediately screeched out in agony, and fell to the ground, becoming still.

As the four of them slowly approached Simmons, they then looked up to the helicopter, as Ada gestured for them to head up, as she moved her helicopter up the Quad Towers.

"She's heading to the roof... But the more important thing is... How is Ada alive...? Did Chris lie to me?" Leon said.

"I doubt that." Richard answered back. "I think that there is actually two Adas, and the one that Chris might have killed, was the impostor. I think he thought that it was the real Ada."

"How can you tell?" Helena asked.

"The fact that if the real Ada was really dead, then the impostor would have helped Simmons." Richard stated. "That's how I can be sure. After all, you remember the tape back at Tall Oaks, there is a Ada impostor on the loose, and she would have tried to kill us instead of helping us at all."

"I see." Leon nodded, as he seemed to understand the reasoning behind Richard's explanation.

"Let's hope the elevator works." Helena told the others, before she noticed that Leon was still looking at Ada's helicopter. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Leon answered back, looking at Helena briefly, before then looking back at the ascending helicopter again, and then turning around and walking towards the Quad Towers. "Let's go."

The group immediately entered the tall building, easily finding the elevator, as it made its way up the tall building, towards the roof of the building. The group looked outside, through the glass windows of the elevator, watching the burning city below them.

"She's more than just a friend, isn't she?" Helena stated. "You have feelings for her."

Leon turned to Helena with a serious look on his face, as Helena silently looked back, not saying anymore. Richard then moved between them, as he wanted to stop them from talking about such an awkward topic.

"Alright, I know that all of us except Leon here wants to know more about Ada, the lady who managed to save us several times over." Richard told both of them. "But right now, we got more pressing matters at hand here, and that's trying to figure out what Ada wants from us, telling us to head to the roof of the building."

Suddenly, there was the sound of a nearby explosion, that attracted everyone's attention, before there was an explosion right in front of them, that blasted the doors of the elevator off, as they crashed through the windows on the other side, as the group were knocked onto the sides of the elevator, as it began to swing and wobble around, hanging by a single cable, which was rapidly breaking apart from the strain it was taking by carrying the entire weight of the elevator cubicle and the group inside of it.

"What the fuck...!? Where did that come from...!?" Richard exclaimed.

"There!" Reisen shouted, pointing towards an intact elevator cubicle, which had a cable that rose all the way to the top of the building. "Everyone prepare to jump!"

The group complied, as they waited until the elevator swung close enough for all of them to make the jump, as they simultaneously leapt out of it, just as the wire holding it snapped, dropping the entire cubicle down towards the hard ground. When everyone managed to steady themselves on landing, they looked up, as the cable was on the middle of the cublcie they were on.

However, they had little time to breathe, as the cubicle then shook violently, causing everyone to jump onto the cable, as the cubicle they were standing on immediately began to falling at a alarming speed.

"I repeat, what the fuck is happening!?" Richard shouted with outrage.

"I don't know, but I wouldn't recommend looking down right now." Leon answered back.

"Wasn't planning to." Helena groaned back, as everyone made their slow climb towards the top, all while the city was beginning to collapse around them.

Suddenly, there was a rain of glass fragments that showered onto them, as the group braced themselves, as the shards slid onto them. After the shower of glass was gone, the group immediately continued climbing.

"Fingers crossed that doesn't happen again!" Helena remarked.

"I most certainly agree. This is not a good experience." Reisen stated. "Especially when we're clinging to this cable with our very lives at stake."

As the group managed to come into sight of a large passage connecting a pair of buildings, they were surprised, when they saw Simmons, in his beast form with the spinal needle launcher, was on top of the platform, as Ada was on the platform, fighting him.

"Simmons!" Leon shouted.

"I should have expected him to bounce back from that one... After all, we were trying to get to the top quickly." Richard growled.

"He's still alive." Helena remarked.

"She really shouldn't have ditched the helicopter." Leon remarked, referring to Ada, who dodged Simmons's shot, before firing at him with her hand-gun. "Guess it's not over between those two."

"I'd offer a hand if I could spare one!" Helena exclaimed.

"Don't bother, we can deal with that, when we find somewhere to stand on." Reisen responded back to Helena.

Suddenly, the passage above both Simmons and Ada immediately broke apart, as Ada noticed it before Simmons did, as she immediately jumped up, and fired her grappling hook launcher to get on top of the remaining part of the passage, where Simmons clambered up, as the two of them continued to fight.

"Ada!" Leon shouted, before he noticed that they were close to the other unbroken part of the passage, as it was just beside them.

The four of them immediately sped their climb up, before they jumped onto the small part of the passage, and immediately pulled their weapons out.

"Right, let's give Ada the hand she really needs now." Richard stated. "Shoot that bastard until he bleeds on the ground!"

"You're going down, Simmons!" Helena shouted, as everyone fired at Simmons from afar, as their rain of fire connected with Simmons, allowing Ada to use the attack as a distraction to get up close with Simmons and strike him with several strong blows, before she then jumped back, as Simmons then continued to fire at her.

As the group tried to take out Simmons from afar, the passage under them began to rumble, shaking everyone, as they tried to keep their balance. They then immediately hopped back onto the cable, as the part of the passage they were standing on crumbled and fell to the ground. However, mid-climb, there was another explosion, as they saw large pieces of furniture being rained down upon them.

"Shit! Watch out!" Leon shouted, as they tried to dodge the furniture. Helena was hit by a large sofa, as it knocked her off the cable, as she fell down.

Richard then reacted in time, by pulling his arm out, as Helena grabbed it, and Richard slowly pulled her up, as she then clambered onto Richard's back to get back up onto the cable.

When they managed to get up a few floors, they felt something smash onto the side of the building, and when they looked down, they found that Simmons was chasing after them, climbing up the side of the wall.

"Son of a... He's targeting us now!" Richard cried.

"Ada! If you can hear me, shoot him, now!" Leon yelled out as loud as he could for Ada to hear.

His call for help was answered, as Simmons was hit by something before he could catch up to the group, as it dazed him enough for him to lose grip on the building momentarily, before he recovered and started his chase again. When he got close, he tried to swipe at Leon, however, Leon dodged it, and countered with a swinging kick to Simmons's head that sent the mutant back down again.

As Helena got to the top, where she found a open door that she could stand on, she immediately pulled out her hand to get Richard up, before then pulling Reisen as well. When it came to Leon's turn, Simmons then stopped chasing after the group, before he then jumped towards Ada, before then lunging onto her, knocking her across the top of the passage, and knocking her unconscious.

"Ada!" Leon yelled, before he immediately turned around. "Helena, Mira, Kaz! Cover me!"

"Leon!" Helena shouted, as Leon jumped down onto the passage, before Richard then shoved Helena aside, before jumping down as well. "Kaz!"

"You help your lady, Ada, out! I'll keep this bastard off you!" Richard shouted to Leon.

"Alright, I got it." Leon responded back, before he moved over to Ada, as he lifted her up. "Ada, can you hear me? Don't let it end like this...!"

Simmons slowly moved towards Ada, as he shifted back to his human form. "Get away from her, Leon! You're not the half the man she needs!" Simmons growled. "Come with me, my love! We'll be together, forever-"

Richard screamed with rage, as he rushed towards Simmons, his feet smashing across the passage, before he then jumped up and smashed down with both of his hands, slamming Simmons face-first into the passage, as the force of the attack shook the passage slightly. Richard then grabbed Simmons by the hair, before smashing Simmons's head onto the passage.

"WHY! WON'T! YOU! DIE!" Richard raged, articulating his words with each smash he did. "DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE SIMMONS!"

Before Richard could smash him into the roof of the passage again, Simmons let out a burst of steam from his back, that temporarily blinded Richard, causing him to reel back. As Richard tried to clear his eyes from the steam, Simmons immediately slammed a fist right into Richard's stomach, causing him to hunch over with a strong cough.

"Come on, wake up!" Leon whispered, as he used his hand-gun to fire at Simmons, who was lifting Richard up by the neck, squeezing it tightly enough to choke the black-haired mercenary, who was using both of his hands to try and pry the hand on his neck off. "If you're really Ada, I know you can pull through this. We both can..."

Richard immediately winded his right leg back, before landing a kick right at Simmons's arm, causing the mutated perpetrator to drop him. As he got up, Richard slammed Simmons with a upper-cut that sent him flying back, as he transformed himself mid-air into his beast form, before landing and readying his needle launcher to shoot Ada and Leon.

"LEON!" Richard shouted, as Leon moved to protect Ada, using his back as cover for her. As Simmons reared back, Richard immediately got in front, before spreading his arms out, and using his own back to protect both Leon and Ada himself. Helena and Reisen tried shooting Simmons to stop him, although their shots were too weak to interrupt his attack.

Simmons fired a rain of bone needles, that hit Richard's back, as they pierced through the armour and padding in his clothing, right into his own flesh, as he let out cries of pain, although he still endured the barrage aimed at him, still standing straight with his back covering the two of them. When Leon noticed that he wasn't getting hit, he looked at Richard, who was standing in front of them, with a pained expression on his face.

"I guess... that should count as a favour repaid for all the help you've done for me and Mira..." Richard weakly smiled, ignoring the pain from the bone needles embedded in his back.

Ada slowly woke up in Leon's hands, as she groaned, before Leon turned his head back to face her. "I was just resting my eyes." Ada answered back.

"Shouldn't sleep on the job. Look what happens when you do." Leon responded back with a serious tone, as he let go of Ada, who got herself up on her feet.

"Huh. Thanks for the protection. I guess that's for the help back in Tall Oaks?" Ada asked Richard.

"Yeah, now if you excuse me..." Richard responded back, as he turned back to Simmons, who immediately prepared to attack again, shifting his needle launcher into a spear of bone. "We got a corporate bastard to finish off."

The group deftly dodged the spear of bone that was aimed at them, as the three of them fired at Simmons, supported by Helena and Reisen above them.

"In case you haven't noticed, Simmons doesn't take rejection well." Ada told both Richard and Leon.

"No shit." Richard growled back, before he then threw Leon his shotgun back. "Leon! Here's your shotgun back!"

Leon caught the shotgun, before firing up close on Simmons. "Is there some back-story I should know here?" Leon asked Ada.

"Nothing worthwhile." Ada answered back, as Simmons immediately extended his bone spear, before swiping across in a full revolution. The three of them immediately ducked down, as the long appendage sailed across the air above them.

Richard fired at Simmons's head several times, causing him to revert back to his vulnerable human form. He then immediately jumped onto Simmons, before then grabbing Simmons's head and slamming it down on the passage. He jumped back to avoid a steam burst, as Simmons changed himself back into his mutated beast form, before he immediately readied his needle launcher, before firing a barrage of bone needles that Richard barely dodged from.

Suddenly Simmons then rushed towards Leon, before pouncing at him, causing the agent to lose his footing on the passage, and falling off the edge. Leon barely managed to catch the ledge with his hand, as he tried to pull himself up. However, Simmons immediately shifted back to his human form, before walking towards Leon, and stomping his foot right onto Leon's hand, eliciting a cry from the agent, who tried to keep holding on.

"Do you want to live?" Simmons asked with cruelty in his voice, as he kicked off Leon's other hand. "Then beg! Beg for your life!"

"I'll pass!" Leon defiantly shouted back, as Simmons snarled, before grinding his foot on Leon's hand.

However, Simmons was grabbed from behind by Richard, who pinned Simmons's arms with a double shoulder lock.

"Get the hell off my friend, you bastard!" Richard roared, before turning to Ada, who immediately brandished a metal pike in her hands. "Ada, NOW!"

"Can't always get what you want, Simmons." Ada mocked, as she immediately jammed the metal pike right into the side of Simmons.

"'No! NO!" Simmons screamed, as Ada twisted the metal pike in more, before she then grabbed Simmons, just as Richard released him.

"Let's call this closure." Ada stated, before she then jumped off the passage, before dropping Simmons right into a burning section of one of the tunnels below, as she fired her grappling hook launcher. "You really should have moved on, Simmons."

Simmons screamed, as he was being burnt alive, as Leon and Richard watched with morbid silence. Leon then holstered his gun, as Richard did the same, convinced that Simmons would be kept at bay for the time being. Leon then turned towards Ada, who was on the balcony of the nearby building.

"What are you?" Leon asked. "Why are you helping us?"

Ada immediately sent a message with her phone, before Leon received it, as it was a short message.

'_Wish I could stay longer, but I've gotta run. I've left you a small parting gift on the roof. Two in fact, since I have a hunch your friends might split after this. See you down the road, Leon._' the message read.

Leon then turned back to Ada, who was walking into the building. "Ada!" Leon shouted.

"What are you waiting for?" Helena asked through the comms. "Go after her."

"No. We're sticking together." Leon answered back.

Helena sighed, as Reisen turned to her. "Leon is right. We are not done yet. If Simmons could have recovered from all we did to him, it will be a matter of time until he comes back after us. We need to either escape from him, or find a way to permanently end him."

Leon and Richard used the passage to get back to where Helena and Reisen were, as both of them lifted their male partners up, before they entered the building, as the stairs that would lead them to the roof were just ahead of them. They entered it, and climbed their way up to the top, where they found a large door that would lead them to the roof. Leon immediately kicked the door, before they moved out onto the roof.

They looked around, as there were many zombies ahead of them, but even further ahead, were two helicopters, which were on different helipads, that were next to each other.

"There's our ticked outta here..." Leon stated. "...If we can get to it!"

"So this is the last stretch here?" Richard said, before he raised his rifle. "Then I got to say, it was an honour working with both of you, Leon and Helena."

Suddenly, fleshy tentacles began to penetrate several of the zombies, as the group were surprised by the situation before them.

"What are those..." Helena stated, before one of the penetrated zombies immediately combusted, before its body immediately began to break away into shifting parts, which immediately alerted the group to the one responsible. "Simmons...!?"

They watched as the zombies were dragged into Simmons's body, which retained his human form, although on his back was a large mess of flesh and bone, with several tentacles protruding out of it, like scorpion tails, and he was blocking the only way ahead to the heli-pads.

"He just doesn't quit, does he?" Helena remarked.

"Indeed, we need to take him down again, and as many times as it requires to stop him." Reisen answered back.

"Enough is enough." Leon growled. "You're finally going to get what's coming to you, Simmons!"

The group immediately attacked Simmons, who tried to attack back by throwing his barbed tails towards the group. "I'm sure they saved you a room for you in hell!" Helena shouted, as she fired at Simmons's head, causing him to flinch, before Leon got up closer and used his shotgun to blast Simmons with the full brunt of the weapon, as Richard rapidly fired at Simmons, with Reisen firing piercing round after piercing round into Simmons.

Eventually, Simmons was defeated once again,as he fell onto his knees, before the nearby zombies swarmed towards him, and immediately bit and tore into him. The group realised that this was the opportunity to get past Simmons, as they rushed past the advancing zombies, and through the gate ahead, before closing it behind them to prevent more zombies from chasing after them from behind.

The group then moved across the wooden balconies connected between the buildings, as they saw the twin helicopters ahead of them on another building.

"We've gotta get to the helicopters over there." Helena stated, as everyone nodded in agreement.

"And the sooner, the better!" Leon quickly added, as the group ran across the rooftops of the buildings, before they found themselves blocked by a large crane, which was carrying a pulley-operated platform used for window-washing.

Helena was immediately boosted on top of the crane by Leon, who pulled everyone up on top of it, where they saw something land on the other building, as it looked like a massive fly.

"What the hell is that...!?" Richard exclaimed. "Another one of Simmon's many damned forms!?"

Suddenly, the massive insect picked up a large clump of metal and threw it towards the group, as it struck the crane. Reisen and Leon, who were the closest to the edge of the crane, lost their balance and fell off it, right into the platform that it was carrying, while Helena and Richard were knocked down onto the balcony beside the crane.

"Leon! Mira!" Helena exclaimed, as she and Richard got back up.

"We're alright. Just get us out of here!" Leon shouted back, as they both got back up.

"Got it!" Helena responded back, as she and Richard ran across, looking for something to control the crane with.

They managed to find a console, although it was being surrounded by zombies. The two of them made quick work of them, before Helena worked on the console, as Richard covered her by shooting down any zombies that tried to approach their position. Soon enough, the crane was moving along, with Leon and Reisen.

"Whatever you're doing! It's working!" Leon answered back, as Reisen immediately peered down the scope of her sniper rifle, and fired shot after shot into Simmon's massive red compound eyes, with Leon doing his best to shoot the eyes as well. "You like to play rough, huh? OK. Let's go!"

However, midway across, Simmons immediately flew towards where the platform was, before he immediately slammed against the side of the building, shaking it, and causing the crane control console to reset itself, stopping the movement of the platform.

"Helena! Kaz! What's going on!?" Leon asked the both of them.

"I don't know! Whatever he did, it reset the console! Wait for Helena to restore the crane back to normal!" Richard answered back, as he crushed a zombie's head onto the metal grated gate beside him.

Leon immediately switched to his shotgun, as he fired at Simmons's massive head to drive him back, while Helena struggled to get the crane working again. After a while, the platform began to start moving again, as it soon reached the end of the path, where Reisen and Leon had sufficient distance to jump across back onto the top of the building.

"Leon, Mira! You're both in the right place to jump! Get out of there, before Simmons starts smashing you with the platform!" Richard shouted to both Leon and Reisen, as he saw Simmons flitting towards them with one of his massive legs raised up.

Leon and Reisen immediately got on top of the platform's railing, before jumping towards the ledge and catching it, as Simmons smashed the platform, which caused the crane to tip and smash right into him, knocking him down towards the ground. As Helena helped them both up, Richard cleared out the rest of the zombies in the area, before they then proceeded through the area, and right into a large open space on the rooftops, where there were even more zombies wandering.

As the group moved onto the field, more of Simmons's fleshy tentacles appeared, as it speared through several nearby zombies, dragging them into his body, as it allowed him to recover the damage he was dealt by Leon and Reisen from before, as he crawled on top of the rooftops, letting out a chattering cry.

"All right, we need to ground this asshole! As long as he's airborne, we're not going anywhere in that chopper!"

"I'll be damned if I'm going to let him stop us!" Helena shouted back, as the group attacked Simmons, as he immediately covered his head and eyes with large chitin pincers. "He's trying to protect his head!"

Suddenly, thunder began to sound, as lightning bolts streaked down nearby, towards a large golden lightning rod in the middle of the field. When Richard saw the lightning rod, and considered how Simmons was able to regenerate himself by consuming the zombies, he formulated a way to make Simmons vulnerable.

"Wait! I think I got a idea to take him down easily!" Richard shouted back. "We need to deal enough damage to force him to regenerate himself by consuming the nearby zombies! If I can impale one of the zombies that he's about to consume with the lightning rod over there, it'll give him a massive shock that will leave him wide open for attack!"

"Sounds like a proper plan." Leon stated, before he noticed that Simmons legs had fleshy yellow joints. "Go for the legs! That should hurt him enough to force him to regenerate!"

"I'll keep hold of the lightning rod!" Richard responded back with a determined tone, before he hefted the large lightning rod. "You three shoot out his joints and tell me when he's about to try and get some zombies!"

The other three immediately did so, as they weaved through the crowd of zombies, as Richard kicked away any zombies that tried to grab him, before Reisen managed to burst one of the leg joints, as the severed leg fell apart, and Simmons screeched with pain, writhing around. Suddenly, from the burst joint, the fleshy tentacles returned, as they snaked towards several zombies. When Richard got front of one of them, he immediately thrust the lightning rod into the zombie's torso, just before it was dragged into the burst joint along with the other zombies, as the joint and the attached leg regenerated, with the lightning rod sticking out of the yellow swollen joint. A few seconds later, a large thunderbolt struck down right onto Simmons, breaking off a large part of his biological mass, and causing him to lose balance and fall down, with his head on the ground, completely vulnerable.

"Now! Aim for his head!" Leon ordered everyone, as Richard equipped his rifle, as the group fired onto Simmons's head and eyes, before he recovered. The lightning rod clattered on the ground, after being blasted out of Simmons, as Richard dodged Simmons's legs, and took the rod back.

The group waited for the right opportunity to attack Simmons again, as they dodged his leg swipes, and fired at his various joints, taking out several more legs, and causing him to pierce through even more zombies, only for Richard to jam the lightning rod into one of the pierced zombies, as it lodged itself back into Simmons once again, letting another strike of thunder to hit him directly. Simmons immediately fell forward again, as Leon and Richard got up close to it, as Leon unloaded his shotgun onto Simmons's head, as Richard immediately set several remote bombs around Simmons's head, before detonating them, as the resulting explosion managed to cause one of Simmons's eyes to burst, causing him utter agony, as his head fell forward again.

Richard then searched for the lightning rod, before seeing that it dropped near Leon this time. "Leon! Take the lightning rod! If we can get that lightning rod into his head, then it might be the deciding blow!" Richard shouted back.

Leon heeded Richard's words, as he picked up the lightning rod, as Richard baited some zombies to come towards him with a shrill whistle, as Leon managed to get one of the zombies jammed with the lightning rod through in time, as Simmons took the group of zombies in front of him, using them to recover the missing eye. However, with the lightning rod in it, the third lightning strike struck directly onto his head, as it damaged it severely, causing Simmons to wildloy smash around without any control, as his legs knocked the group over the gate, and right towards the heliport. Simmons tried to maintain his hold on top of the building, although ultimately failing, as he fell down with a mighty screech.

"Gotcha, you bastard!" Helena exclaimed, before the floor rumbled under the group.

"Head for the chopper. This floor isn't stable at all!" Leon shouted to everyone, as they ran towards the two helicopters, as one of them was a smaller civlian model, and the other was a military one, which seemed to be bereft of any personnel in it.

"That's strange... What is a military helicopter doing here... Don't tell me...?" Leon stated, before Richard and Reisen made their way to the other helicopter.

"Well, we got our way out." Richard stated. "Now then, I guess that this is-"

Before Richard could say anything more, one of Simmon's leg latched onto the side of the heliport, before Simmons pulled himself up, looking severely damaged, with missing body parts. He screeched, before lifting his front legs up, preparing to smash the heliport with the group on top of it.

"Oh shit!" Leon cursed, before he then searched the helicopter for something, and finding a large shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, with several rockets in a case inside of it. He then immediately loaded a rocket onto it.

Richard also pushed open the door of the helicopter, before finding another rocket-launcher. Without any delay, he immediately loaded the launcher with a nearby rocket, and aiming it at Simmons's head.

"This ends now!" Richard shouted, before he and Leon fired their rockets at the same time, as they exploded onto Simmons's head, blowing a large part of his head off, as he fell backwards.

When the group moved over to the edge to see Simmons, his massive body was breaking apart, as he reverted back to his human form, as he screamed on his fall down, before he fell right on top of the large spike on top of the plaza's metal obelisk. After his body slid down to the bottom of the spike, his body gave off a death rattle, as his body tried to shift itself, before he died mid-transformation, with his own skeleton showing through his split body. Blood began to leak down the obelisk, as the blood pooled into the glassy tiling below, as the blood slowly turned the octagonal pedestral around the obelisk into a large version of the white and red Umbrella Corporation logo.

"Well, I'll be damned. At least his death was poetic in art..." Richard remarked with a intrigued expression. "By Umbrella Corporation, he started his tyranny, and by the symbol of the Umbrella Corporation, he met his final fate."

"And the world is cleansed of one more person who would have turned to world to ashes with their twisted ambitions..." Reisen coldly added.

"That's for my sister." Helena stated with vengeful eyes.

"Come on, let's get to the chopper." Leon stated, as he and Helena headed towards the smaller helicopter, as Leon found something on the pilot seat.

It was a hand-sized make-up kit, as Leon opened it, to reveal the make-up powder inside. However, pressing a switch on the side of the kit, the bottom side of the make-up kit opened to reveal a large digital chip inside of it. Leon handed it to Helena, who inserted it into her phone, as it showed all sorts of evidences proving Simmons's involvement in the development of the C-Virus and the death of the president both agents were framed for.

"Leon, this is-!" Helena exclaimed.

"Evidence that proves Simmons's guilt." Leon continued off.

"Which means it will prove the innocence of all of us." Helena answered back, before turning to Reisen and Richard. "Isn't that right, Mira and Kaz?"

"Yeah, I guess this means that all of it has come to an end..." Richard nodded solemnly. "So I guess that this is where we part ways, right?"

"You could come with us. We could use people like you in our work." Leon offered.

"Sorry, Leon, but we're mercenaries, heart and soul." Richard answered back with a smirk. "We just simply do things by our own will and right. After all, we all wanted closure to all of this, and for Simmons to pay the ultimate price. But now that it's done... To each their own ways. You two still got a lot to do. We've got a lot to do ourselves. After all, who's going to be the exfil of the rest of my friends?"

"I see... How are you going to find your friends? And how do you if they haven't left China yet?" Helena asked back.

"You don't worry yourselves with that. We've got our own ways of tracking down our friends." Reisen answered, before she then bowed towards both Leon and Helena. "We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for everything you have done for us."

"The same goes back to you guys." Leon answered back.

"Well then, if we get lucky... May we meet again, Leon Kennedy and Helena Harper." Richard answered back. "Although you only have our names, if fate ordains it... We will most definitely encounter each other."

Richard and Reisen then entered the military helicopter, as Reisen took the pilot seat, before operating the helicopter, as it flew off away from the city.

"Well then... That was quite the adventure, was it...?" Richard told Reisen with a smile on his face. "Zombies, mutants, secrets, the works... To be honest, the sensation of working together with the famous Leon S. Kennedy towards a common goal never felt so refreshing."

"You really are quite happy with all of this, aren't you?" Reisen asked back with a even tone, not keeping her eyes off the sky ahead of them. "After all, we had our share of close calls there, thanks to you. And the same would have went for the others, wouldn't it?"

"Come on, Reisen. I know that you enjoyed this for a few moments along the way didn't you?" Richard teased, placing his arm around the seat. "But yeah, I agree with your assessment of things. You know, if we weren't actually trying to hide our identities by conforming to this world, we would have easily turned the entire incident on its head. After all, nothing here could possibly top us."

Richard then laughed, before he then felt the pain from the bone spikes returning, as he groaned in pain instead. Hiding it away from Richard, Reisen smirked in slight mockery of Richard's cocky words earlier.

"You were saying?" Reisen asked back with a smug tone.

"Oh, shut up, I've had worse injuries when I fought in actual danmaku duels. Sakuya's knifes hurt far more than this shit, and I've learned to grit my teeth and bare it." Richard grumbled back, before he then immediately opened a few gaps, as they showed two places, one of them was above the ocean where Chris's escape pod floated around at, and the other was on the moving platform that Jake, Sherry, Gus and Meiling were on. "Either way, it's time for everyone to come back."

* * *

_After everyone has been retrieved..._

Gus and Meiling watched as Sanae pulled out the few bone spikes that were still embedded deep into Richard's flesh with medical forceps, doing so with surprisingly good precision and steadiness, despite her inexperience on medical aid compared to Reisen and Richard, her learning from back in Gallia allowed her to become a secondary medic in the absence of a experienced one. Richard groaned in pain, as each piece was pulled out from his bare back.

"Well, looks your clothes are just about torn into a pincushion." Marisa remarked, holding up Richard's military suit, which had far too many holes to be properly worn at the moment. "How the hell did you manage to get yourself shot like this?"

"I protected Leon, enough said." Richard answered back, before Sanae then moved onto dabbing the medical alcohol on his wounds, causing him to hiss in pain. "Argh!"

"A product of your recklessness, I assume?" Meiling stated with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on, go easy on him, Meiling." Gus stated. "We'll all been through a lot. I hope that Richard was right on the money for this..."

"Of course I'm right! I'm damn sure I have a good idea where the trends are going!" Richard shouted back with a outraged expression. "These X-Stones, you know, right? I've actually correlated how these stones appear. Considering that these stones come about when we've reached near the 'ending' of this world's 'story', the stones appear. You can agree on that, right Sanae?"

"Yeah. I second the idea." Sanae nodded.

"But as you can see, this 'story' here doesn't have merely a single perspective of things." Richard answered back. "You might have noticed the fact that the pairs that we all helped each have their own contribution to bringing about the return of peace to this land. Leon and Helena managed to take out Simmons, the person responsible for starting this entire chain of events, Chris and Piers took out HAOS, the one who could have been the very end of this world by biological apocalypse, and our winners this time are Jake and Sherry, both responsible for allowing the cure of the C-Virus to be created and synthesised, ending this viral nightmare once and for all."

"So we just have to ensure that they achieve their goals, right?" Marisa answered back. "That explains why you had us six split into three pairs, each of them working with another. That's a pretty damn good plan there, although it's fairly complex, on the idea that we had to do a lot of things, especially with what we went through."

Sanae paused her work on Richard, which was onto the step of bandaging Richard's wounds, as she drooped her head with sadness in her eyes. Richard immediately his friend's sorrow, before he then turned around to face her.

"Hey, hey. Sanae. I know what you had to go through." Richard answered back. "Trust me, you weren't alone in wanting Piers to live. But think back, how can we possibly kill HAOS, without Piers's convenient mutation? And not only that, if he didn't stay back... Who's going to save you two and Chris back in the escape pod? If Piers didn't stay behind... I don't think there would be a Chris Redfield alive in this world any more."

"...But it still hurts, even knowing that it was inevitable." Sanae responded back with a quiet voice.

"...I know, Sanae. But what's gone is gone. Tell me, did you manage to save someone that was doomed to die?" Richard asked.

"Yeah I did, I saved one of Chris's teammates from Carla." Sanae answered.

"There you go then. Your work wasn't all for nothing then. You saved a life, even though it wasn't the one you were looking to save." Richard stated. "A life saved can do wonders in this world, Sanae. The butterfly effect can be used for good as it can be used for evil. Who knows if that teammate you saved might go on to save even more lives. And even make it so that the future goes better along the road."

Sanae silently nodded, acknowledging Richard's words, before she then finished her work on Richard, who got up and leaned onto one of the passenger seats.

"Well, I guess that all I can say here, is..." Richard sighed, before he then nodded. "Mission complete, good work everyone, and thanks for making this go along smoothly."

"Honestly, I enjoyed what I did down there." Marisa chuckled. "Mowing down mooks, especially those annoying zombies, with raw fire-power and a lot of grenades is quite exciting."

Suddenly, not one, but two X-Stones appeared in Richard's hands, as on his left was a brown one, with a symbol of a large rock inscribed on it, and in the right, was a stone of prismatic white, with the symbol of the sun etched onto it.

'_**You who have fought against the man-made plague that terrorise both nature and animal, you have gained the right to earn your proof of victory. And you who have fought both alongside and against gods and goddesses, you have been touched by their divine essence, and you are able to see the light that shines through all. Take both of these stones, and savour your victories. Only one remains, and then, you and your allies will face your final trial, to see if you are worthy to know the answer,and gain what you have sought for.**_' The same transcendent voice that emanated from the X-Stones rang through Richard's head.

"What the... Two of them...?" Richard exclaimed, as everyone was left speechless. He then took a closer look at both of them, before recalling the voice's words. "No, wait... Gods and goddesses... That must have been when we were in Olympus, fighting alongside the other hero teams... But why now on the same time that another X-Stone was given... There must be some reason... Or perhaps... It was mere coincidence."

Richard then pondered for a moment, before he then found nothing in his mind, that could possibly answer his own question. "I shouldn't think much of it. After all, even divine beings make faults from time to time." Richard answered back. "I'd say that the stone of light was a delayed reward by whatever being created them."

He then looked around, as he saw everyone's stunned expression, save for Reisen, who was still focused on piloting the helicopter. "What? What's the problem? This just means that we're just one stone away from finding what these stones do, or lead us towards." He stated with a unamused expression. "There's nothing to be surprised about. It's just the same case as being lucky enough to find a load of gems, when you're just expecting to find only one."

Richard's own words managed to alleviate the surprise amongst his teammates, as they slowly returned back to silently biding their time in returning back to the GFS Ryujin.

"We're right out of reach of any detection." Reisen announced quickly. "Richard, if you could..."

"Got it. Don't worry, I won't strain myself making this sukima big enough for this thing to fit through..." Richard stated, before he concentrated his powers.

The sukima appeared in front of the helicopter, before the flying vehicle entered it, and it closed when it came through with all of its occupants, leaving no trace that there was anything flying above it just before.

The helicopter was transported to the hangar deck, where the personnel immediately guided the helicopter down, as it landed, and everyone disembarked from it.

"Right then. Everyone is dismissed until further notice..." Richard remarked, before he then walked towards one of the elevators out of the large hangar. "I might need a drink myself, after being goddamn awake for two entire days, especially under these conditions..."

Everyone turned to each other, before they saw each other off, going their own ways.

* * *

**Unmei Force: Infection**

**E N D**


End file.
